Mike Ashley sues ‘trusted friend’ over French golf course

In Mike Ashley’s last court case, we found out what an evening in the pub with him was like. Now, we might pick up a few tips on his golf game.

Ashley, the billionaire owner of Sports Direct, has sued his "trusted friend" and former co-owner of Charlton Athletic Football Club, saying he lured him into a fraudulent £3 million ($3.9 million) investment in a French golf course.

Tony Jimenez brought the investment opportunity to Ashley during a 2008 meeting at the offices of Newcastle United Football Club.

The men orally agreed that in return for the £3 million investment in the Loire region of France Ashley would get a 5 per cent holding in the course’s owner, Ashley said in court documents made public last week.

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The Newcastle United owner transferred the money in May 2008 to be held in a Cyprus trust controlled by Jimenez which then would be invested into the golf course, described as the Augusta of Europe by the sports media.

The investment was never made on Ashley’s behalf, his lawyers said in documents.

“Jimenez was not soliciting a genuine investment from Mr Ashley,” his lawyers said. “He was practicing a deliberate fraud,” and “took the investment for himself.”

Comment

A lawyer representing Jimenez didn’t respond to a request for comment. A message sent to a LinkedIn profile purporting to be Jimenez wasn’t returned.

Eddie Johns, a lawyer representing Ashley, declined to comment in an email. St James Holdings, a holding company set up by Ashley, is also a plaintiff in the suit.

It’s not the first time a London judge has been asked to resolve an oral agreement involving Ashley. Last month he won a lawsuit filed by a former employee’s claim that the retail tycoon made a legally binding £15 million bonus deal in a London pub.

Headlines

The trial generated headlines in UK newspapers with tales of Ashley’s drinking competitions during management sessions and napping during client meetings.

The case was an unwelcome distraction for Ashley as he tries to resurrect growth at Sports Direct after a dismal 18 months.

Jimenez lost a 2013 suit against ex-professional soccer player Dennis Wise over a £500,000 investment in the same golf course when a trial judge said the London-born businessman was “guilty of considerable obfuscation.”

-Bloomberg