Mike Ashley appoints the youngest daughter as director of the growing family empire

Mike Ashley has appointed his youngest daughter, Matilda Ashley, as director of Mash Holdings, the company through which he manages his substantial interests in the Frasers Group and other companies.

The move underlines the growing influence of family ties on the billionaire’s business operations.

According to recent filings at Companies House, 27-year-old Matilda Ashley has taken on this important role within Mash Holdings, which plays a central role in overseeing Ashley’s extensive retail and property interests. The appointment follows her recent resignation as director of her beauty company Double Take, which Frasers Group reportedly acquired for £1 last year without informing shareholders.

Launched by Matilda in 2015, Double Take owns SportFX, a cosmetics brand available in Sports Direct stores. The company weathered the pandemic with financial support from Mash Holdings, which is believed to own the rights to SportFX’s apparel, footwear and sports equipment lines. Mike Ashley had previously pledged to financially support the brand for the ‘foreseeable future’.

This latest family appointment could turn heads in the city, where concerns about corporate governance and nepotism have surfaced. The Sunday Times recently highlighted that Matilda’s boyfriend, David Al-Mudallal, is Chief Operating Officer of Frasers Group and has been appointed to the board, making him one of the youngest directors in a FTSE 100 company. Michael Murray, who became CEO of Frasers in 2022 and is married to Anna Ashley, Mike Ashley’s eldest daughter, also holds a prominent position within the group.

The intertwining of family and business interests in Ashley’s empire has drawn much criticism in the past. In 2016, Sports Direct faced criticism from shareholders after it emerged that a company owned by Ashley’s brother was paid to handle international deliveries, a relationship not initially disclosed in the annual report.

Starting as a single store in Maidenhead, Berkshire in 1982, Frasers Group has grown into a retail giant with more than 1,500 stores in 20 countries. The group includes well-known household names such as House of Fraser, Sports Direct, Flannels, Evans Cycles and Jack Wills. Although Mike Ashley stepped down from the board in 2022, he retains a 73% ownership interest and serves in a strong advisory role within the company.