Sports Direct sues over Iceland shop – Telegraph.co.uk

Fresh from winning a £15m battle over a pub bet, Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has returned to the courts to mount a legal claim over the ownership of its shop in Iceland.

The sportswear retailer is suing the family of Jon Asegir Johannesson, the disgraced Icelandic businessman who at one time owned swathes of the British high street through his Baugur vehicle.

Mr Johannesson’s family owns 60pc of Sports Direct’s shop in Reykjavik, the most profitable store in the sportswear giant’s international stable.

Sports Direct is suing Sigurdur Palmi Sigurbjornsson, the stepson of Johannesson, and two firms linked to Mr Johanesson’s wife, Ingiborg Palmadottier – Guru Invest and Rhapsody Investments.

The legal claim centres on an alleged breach of contract.

The Iceland shop, which opened in 2012, was originally a joint venture between Sports Direct, Mr Sigurbjornsson and Jeff Blue, the former investment banker who recently tried to sue Mr Ashley in a lurid courtroom battle that included the tycoon boasting of his “power drinking” abilities.

Mr Blue was persuaded to sell his 15pc stake in the Icelandic business when he believed he would be promoted to Sports Direct’s finance chief. Instead, he left the business in 2015.

It has been reported that Mr Ashley tried to exercise an option to buy out Mr Johannesson’s family’s stake in the Icelandic shop for €100,000 (£91,400) but was rejected as the store is said to be worth €20m. It generates annual sales of €10m and earnings of €2m.