Mike Ashley, the billionaire founder of Frasers Group, has acknowledged that he orchestrated the covert filming of his rival Peter Cowgill, the former executive chairman of JD Sports, in a car park meeting in 2021. Ashley admitted in an interview with the Financial Times that associates in his employ recorded the footage, adding that he was not “hiding from the fact” that he wanted to topple Cowgill, whom he described as his “biggest rival”.
The secret recording captured Cowgill meeting with Barry Bown, the then chief executive of Footasylum, inside a car. At the time, JD Sports was in the process of acquiring the trainer retailer and both companies were bound by an interim enforcement order (IEO) imposed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The order explicitly prohibited the two firms from sharing commercially sensitive information while the regulator reviewed the deal.
After the existence of the covert footage became public, Cowgill suggested it had been recorded on behalf of a “key competitor” and expressed concern that someone had been able “to go to those lengths”. Ashley, reflecting on the incident, said: “He shouldn’t have been in the car park and maybe I shouldn’t have been in the bushes.” He later added: “No one is perfect.” The billionaire also suggested that Cowgill knew what was coming, telling the Financial Times: “I still believe he knew what I was going to do – so then why did he do it?”
Regulatory investigation and heavy fines
The leaked footage triggered a full CMA investigation, which ultimately resulted in combined fines of almost £5 million for JD Sports and Footasylum. The watchdog found that the two companies had breached the interim enforcement order by sharing commercially sensitive information and failing to implement adequate safeguards. JD Sports was fined £4.3 million, while Footasylum was fined £380,000. Within those totals, JD Sports received a £2.5 million penalty for the lack of safeguards and a further £1.8 million for the information-sharing itself; Footasylum was fined £200,000 for its safeguard failures and £180,000 for sharing information.
The investigation and the resulting fines proved catastrophic for Peter Cowgill’s career at JD Sports. He resigned as executive chairman in May 2022, stepping down after 18 years in the role, following a review of the company’s governance and controls. Under his leadership, JD Sports had grown into a global sportswear powerhouse, securing exclusive deals with brands such as Nike and Adidas. Following his departure, Cowgill received a £5.5 million deal from JD Sports that included consultancy services, and he had already sold half his shares in the company in January 2022, reportedly netting £21 million. He has since taken up roles as non-executive chairman of The Fragrance Shop and as a board advisor for sales training firm Mentor Group.
Barry Bown, the Footasylum boss who was filmed with Cowgill, had a long history with JD Sports, having spent 30 years there including 14 as its chief executive before moving to Footasylum in 2018. In March 2024, he stepped down as CEO to take up a consultancy role with Aurelius, the German private equity firm that had acquired Footasylum from JD Sports in 2022 after the CMA ordered the sale on competition grounds.
Ashley’s motives and business background
Ashley has been open about his reasons for targeting Cowgill, telling the Financial Times that most of the conflicts in his career had been driven by his beliefs around fairness. “I’m not Mary Poppins – when you get in a fight with me, I’ll come back at you. But I’m not devil incarnate,” he said. The billionaire, worth more than £3 billion according to the Sunday Times Rich List and named the wealthiest person in the North East and Yorkshire with a fortune of £2.995 billion in 2022, built his retail empire from a single Sports Direct store in Maidenhead in 1982, funded by a £10,000 loan from his parents. He stepped down as chief executive of Frasers Group in 2022 but retains a 73% stake in the company, which now includes House of Fraser, Flannels, and Evans Cycles as well as Sports Direct.
During the CMA’s inquiry into the merger, both Cowgill and Bown claimed they could not recall crucial details about their meetings, drawing criticism from the regulator. Phone records were also reportedly deleted. JD Sports and Footasylum declined to comment on the wider affair.
