Bonus for billionaire Sports Direct founder

Sports Direct International, the UK’s biggest sporting-goods retailer, said investors approved a multi-million-pound bonus for billionaire founder Mike Ashley, succeeding in passing an award that was blocked twice before.

A proposed bonus plan in which Ashley is eligible to participate was supported by 60.4% of shareholders, the company said yesterday in a statement after its AGM.

Sports Direct has faced a barrage of criticism for its efforts to reward Ashley, who owns a 58% stake yet has never received a salary for his role as deputy chairman. The UK Institute of Directors said that the retailer’s latest plan was “excessively generous” and suggested “weak underlying governance at the company”.