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Dec 14 2024

Prince Andrew: Paperwork relating to Duke of York’s past business dealings ‘has vanished’, author claims | UK News

Government departments are doing “anything to avoid” sharing information about Prince Andrew’s past business dealings.

The claim comes from author Andrew Lownie who’s been working for four years on a new book about the Duke of York.

He has submitted over a hundred requests to Whitehall departments only to find that information “has vanished”.

Speaking to Sky News, he said: “I used to write about the intelligence services, and I found that was a lot easier, a lot more open and transparent than the Royal Family.

“I have tried, through the Freedom Information Act, to get access to any of the paperwork for Andrew, a special representative between 2001 and 2011 when he was taxpayer-funded, a public servant”, but explaining how his requests have been rejected he said “this stuff has vanished”.

‘It’s like playing whack-a-mole’

“The Foreign Office claimed not to know anything about it. The Department of Business and Trade know nothing.

“It’s like playing whack-a-mole. It’s real Yes Minister stuff, anything to avoid releasing this information.”

Interest in Prince Andrew’s finances has increased in recent months after it was revealed that the King was no longer paying him an allowance, raising questions about how he is able to pay for his home on the Windsor Estate, Royal Lodge, and security.

The prince’s time as trade envoy for the UK may be significant because it was potentially a lucrative time for him, giving him access to business contacts around the world.

Information withheld ‘in accordance with the acts’

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “The department has complied with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act and Public Records Act and maintains that information has been withheld in accordance with the acts.

“This includes an ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) decision notice which outlined that the commissioner did not need to take any further steps.”

When asked, the Foreign Office told Sky News: “The FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) takes its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act very seriously.”

It comes as a Chinese businessman – described as a “close confidant” of Prince Andrew – was barred from entering the UK over national security risks.

Known as H6, the man was invited to the duke’s birthday party in 2020, and was told by Andrew’s aide Dominic Hampshire that he could help in potential dealings with Chinese investors. A judge ruled the Chinese businessman had an “unusual” degree of trust from the royal.

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On Friday, the duke said he “ceased all contact” with the businessman after concerns were raised by the government.

Andrew met the individual through “official channels” with “nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed”, a statement from his office said.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper would not comment on the case but said: “Our security and intelligence agencies are continually vigilant for any threat to UK national security, whether that be around foreign influence, whether it be around espionage, whether it be around any security threat.

“So, of course, we won’t hesitate to take action in individual cases or more widely, wherever any challenge arises.

Prince’s friendship raises more questions over his wealth

Prince Andrew’s friendship with an alleged Chinese spy raises yet more uncomfortable and embarrassing questions for him.

And it prompts very serious concerns about whether the Duke of York created a threat to national security by their “close” association.

Official court documents state the relationship between the two had a “convert and clandestine” element.

We know the individual acted as Prince Andrew’s business adviser, was invited to his birthday party, and more importantly, won an “unusual” degree of trust from someone who was a senior member of the Royal Family.

There is now further pressure to uncover the full extent of the pair’s association, and whether it continued after Andrew was forced to step down from his government role.

Andrew’s role as a “special representative” for trade began in 2001, but ended after his connections with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein were exposed.

The court papers now suggest the pressures on him at the time could have made him vulnerable to abuse.

After his fall from grace, and removal as a working royal, there has been much speculation about Prince Andrew’s wealth and his ability to pay for the upkeep of his large Windsor home Royal Lodge, which requires significant and expensive repairs.

Andrew is now facing even more scrutiny. And even more questions about the people he surrounded himself with.

Growing call for accountability

Former chair of the public accounts committee between 2010 and 2015, Baroness Margaret Hodge, has joined calls for less secrecy generally around the royal finances.

She told me: “I find it really difficult to believe that the departments for whom Prince Andrew had contact when he was an envoy have not got the records.

“They will have those records, they obviously just don’t want to share them. And that really says it all.

“I want a Royal Family that is well-funded: they’re a precious and valued institution in our society but going with that funding must come some accountability.”

The palace believes that as a non-working royal, the duke’s income and tax arrangements are a matter for him and HM Revenue and Customs.

In terms of how he is paying for Royal Lodge, Sky News understands the royal household has been given assurances that his sources of income are all above board, however, it is not in their remit to vet or approve those sources.

It sees it as a job for the Crown Estate which manages properties in the likes of the Windsor Estate.

But Royal Lodge is of interest more generally to the family.

As the former home of the Queen Mother, it’s been suggested that potentially other members of the family may be interested in living there in the future, from the Prince and Princess of Wales to Queen Camilla looking at it for her family.

‘Opaque’ and ‘confusing’

However Robert Hardman, journalist and author of Charles III: New King. New Court, says: “Everything to do with Prince Andrew is opaque, is confusing, people don’t really want to talk about it because his situation is a distraction.”

He added: “I think the real question is not what’s happening today, it’s what’s happening in a few years down the line, what happens if his savings run out, these sources of income such as they are at the moment, what if they run out and suddenly he can’t afford to pay for the maintenance or the protection, what happens to the lease then?

“Does the Crown Estate then say, ‘Well, actually the terms of the lease have been forfeited?’ We just don’t know.

“It is a private financial matter for him but given the prominence of the house and its history and its connections, then the media are clearly going to carry on taking a keen interest in it, as are the Crown Estate and as are ultimately the Treasury.”

Prince Andrew’s television interview five years ago about his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was meant to shut the scandal down and allow him to get back to public duties without that distraction.

Instead, it had the opposite effect.

This year, he has only been seen once officially in front of the cameras, as he appeared to lead the family as they walked to the chapel at Windsor for a memorial service in February.

This Christmas we may again see Andrew with the rest of the family going to church at Sandringham, always a sign that he hasn’t been entirely left out in the cold by his relatives.

But he still lives with the repercussions of the Jeffrey Epstein saga, his extraordinary downfall meaning questions will continue to remain about him, how he lives and his finances.

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Oct 23 2024

Public investment ‘badly needed’ to prevent UK’s national debt rising to risky levels, IMF warns | Business News

Public investment in new technologies and the energy transition is “badly needed” to drive growth in the UK and prevent the national debt rising to risky levels, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.

Speaking as Rachel Reeves travelled to Washington to attend her first IMF annual meeting as chancellor, the body identified the UK as an advanced economy at risk of allowing borrowing to rise well in excess of pre-COVID levels.

The IMF’s annual fiscal monitor report, which assesses tax and spending plans across global economies, projects that UK net debt will increase from 91.6% of GDP this year to 96.4% by 2029.

Vitor Gaspar, director of fiscal affairs at the IMF, warned that the UK’s national debt level is “high, rising and risky”, but told Sky News that a combination of relatively high interest rates and low growth made public investment a priority.

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“If I were to give you my concern about the UK… I would put it as follows. The UK is living with interest rates close to US interest rates, but with growth rates that are not close to US levels.

“That leads to a theme that has been amply debated in the UK. Public investment as a percentage of GDP has been trending down and, given the challenges associated with the energy transition, new technologies, technological innovation and much else, public investment is badly needed.”

He warned that the UK’s challenge was not unique in a world where global debt has reached $100trn and rising.

“In most countries, fiscal plans that governments have put in place are insufficient to deliver stable or declining public debt ratios with a high degree of confidence. Additional efforts are necessary. Delaying adjustment is costly and risky. Kicking the can down the road won’t do. The time to act is now.”

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In comments likely to be welcomed by Ms Reeves, who is expected to adjust the government’s debt rules to allow more borrowing in her first budget next week, Mr Gaspar said she should not rule out borrowing to invest.

“Public investment should be protected in the framework of a set of rules and budgetary procedures that foster sound macroeconomic performance. The fact that that debate is very much at the centre of the debate in the UK right now is very much welcome.”

Ms Reeves is expected to make public investment a core plank of a budget in which she will seek to raise close to £40bn via tax increases and spending cuts, while also trying to kick-start growth.

Total public and private investment levels in the UK are the lowest in the G7 and have been for 24 of the last 30 years, according to thinktank the IPPR.

She will gather with fellow finance ministers from more than 190 countries in Washington on Thursday, a gathering also attended by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey.

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Oct 22 2024

Government borrowing remains at highest since pandemic | Business News

Government borrowing is at its highest since the pandemic due to public sector pay rises and the high cost of borrowing, official figures show.

Last month had the third highest September borrowing on record, coming only behind 2020 and 2021, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

While more money came in from tax, it was outweighed by increased spending which the ONS said was partly due to higher interest rates on the debt and public sector pay rises.

Spending was £2.1bn higher in September than the same month a year ago, figures showed.

Public sector workers including teachers and junior doctors have accepted pay rises since Labour entered government in July while high interest rates set by the Bank of England to bring down inflation have made borrowing more expensive.

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But the gap between what the government took in and what it spent was less than expected by some.

Economists polled by the Reuters news agency had anticipated public sector borrowing could have reached £17.5bn but was in fact £16.6bn. The sum excludes borrowing conducted by public sector banks.

Independent forecasters at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), however, had not thought such a rise was likely. The numbers came in £1.5bn higher than it had forecast.

What are the government saying?

The chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones defended the pay rises by saying strikes would cost the economy more.

“Strikes cost at least £3bn last year, so it was the right thing to do to end those damaging disputes,” he said.

“We have inherited a £22bn black hole in the country’s public finances, including no plan to fund pay deals for millions of public sector workers… Resolving this blackhole at the budget next week will require difficult decisions to fix the foundations of our economy and begin delivering on the promise of change.”

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Oct 16 2024

UK inflation drops to 1.7% – well below target for first time since 2021 | Business News

UK inflation has eased to 1.7%, dipping well below the Bank of England target for the first time since 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It’s a drop on the 2.2% recorded in last month’s Consumer Prices Index (CPI). Analysts had expected a fall, but only to 1.9%.

The Bank of England (BoE) has been trying to bring inflation down by keeping interest rates higher.

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It recently trimmed the base borrowing rate to 5% and today’s inflation figure is expected to increase the likelihood of further cuts – welcome news for people with mortgages.

A lower inflation rate doesn’t mean prices are falling – only that they are rising more slowly.

Inflation peaked at 11.1% in October 2022 after energy prices soared due to the start of the Ukraine war.

It fell to 2% in May and July this year, but then edged higher again.

The last time it was below the target – which is set by the government – was April 2021, when it was 1.5%.

The latest drop in inflation, which covers the 12 months to September, was mainly driven by falling fuel costs and air fares, the ONS said.

However, the rate of inflation for food and non-alcoholic drinks increased for the first time since early last year.

So-called “core inflation”, which strips out volatile elements such as food and energy and gives a more reliable picture of what’s going on in the economy, fell from 3.6% to 3.2%.

Mortgage holders can now look forward to what looks like an almost certain cut in interest rates from the Bank of England when it meets on 7 November.

A reduction from 5% to 4.75% was already viewed by financial experts as highly likely.

The BoE committee meets again in the week before Christmas and holds its first 2025 meeting on 6 February.

While good for borrowers, falling interest rates are often bad news for savers as banks usually peg back their rates to match the Bank of England.

Inflation is expected to increase again to some degree next month due to rising energy costs, with analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics believing the latest figure of 1.7% is “the low point for CPI inflation”.

“Oil price rises mean energy costs will rebound, while we expect the chancellor to boost duties in the October budget,” they said.

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Oct 14 2024

Sir Keir Starmer to pledge to get rid of regulation that ‘holds back investment’ at business summit | UK News

The prime minister will pledge to get rid of regulation that “needlessly holds back investment” at a major business conference in London today.

The International Investment Summit will comprise more than £50bn of deal announcements – or roughly twice the £28bn unveiled at the previous comparable gathering held under the former Conservative administration, Sky News’ City Editor Mark Kleinman learned on Sunday.

It comes after a row over the transport secretary’s criticism of P&O Ferries reportedly jeopardised a £1bn investment by its Dubai-based owner DP World.

However the investment will go ahead and DP world’s chairman, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, will attend the conference after a frantic effort by UK ministers and diplomats to repair relations with the company.

The government is eager to show it is making progress on its mission to deliver economic growth after marking 100 days in office and ahead of the chancellor’s first budget on 30 October.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned of “tough decisions” at the spending review as Labour says it needs to plug a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances left by the Conservatives.

The government says that international investment will help with its goals to create jobs, improve living standards, and make communities and families across the country better off.

It will ask the Competition and Markets Authority to prioritise growth, investment and innovation, and will review the focus of other major regulators to “curb red tape” and put the UK “at the front of the queue” for opportunities.

In a keynote speech at the summit, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to pitch Britain as a stable bet for investors, saying he will “do everything in my power to galvanise growth including getting rid of regulation that needlessly holds back investment”.

He will say: “We have a golden opportunity to use our mandate, to end chop and change, policy churn and sticking plasters that make it so hard for investors to assess the value of any proposition.

“We have the determination, the focus on clear long-term ends, a mission-led mindset that thinks in years, not the days or hours of the news grid, needed to unlock that potential. Do not doubt that.

“We are focusing on investment because the mission of growth, in this country especially, demands it. Private sector investment is the way we rebuild our country and pay our way in the world.”

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Five of the world’s biggest banks, private equity firms, insurers and tech giants gave a signal of support in a joint letter to The Times.

“We are optimistic about the future of the economy, and believe it is time to invest in Britain,” they said, citing greater stability and growth in the technology and energy sectors.

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Banks JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, insurers Aviva and L&G, and private equity firms including Blackstone and KKR are among the 14 signatories.

Labour has warned of “tough choices” to come in the budget and sparked fears of further cuts after it cut back winter fuel payments to pensioners.

There has been speculation as to which taxes could be raised in the budget after Labour committed not to increase national insurance, income tax or VAT.

Ms Reeves must also choose whether to amend fiscal rules to allow more borrowing to fund public spending.

Consumer health firm Haleon has announced a £130m investment in a new Global Oral Health Innovation centre in Weybridge, Surrey, to coincide with the summit.

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Oct 13 2024

Starmer to hail more than £50bn in investment at key summit | Business News

The government will on Monday welcome more than £50bn of investment in the British economy as Sir Keir Starmer tries to reset his administration after a first hundred days marked by scandal and infighting.

Sky News has learnt that the International Investment Summit in the City of London will comprise more than £50bn of deal announcements – or roughly twice the £28bn unveiled at the previous comparable gathering held under the former Conservative administration.

The total figure to be announced on Monday was still being finalised this weekend amid continuing negotiations with companies.

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Sources said, however, that the final amount would “certainly” be in excess of £50bn.

The summit will be attended by executives from globally important companies such as Alphabet, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and Deepmind.

In recent days, a row emerged involving DP World, which had been planning to announce a £1bn investment in the London Gateway port.

The company threatened to cancel its attendance at the conference and review the investment in the wake of comments by the transport secretary, Louise Haigh, labelling its P&O Ferries subsidiary “a rogue operator”.

After Downing Street officials intervened, the dispute appeared to have been resolved this weekend, with the investment proceeding.

Sky News can also reveal that the summit will include a behind-closed-doors session chaired by the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, and a number of chief executives.

The group will, according to insiders, jointly scrutinise a green paper on industrial strategy that will also be published on Monday.

One invitee said they had been “asked to mark the government’s homework”.

A source close to Mr Reynolds said: “When the business secretary said this government would work in partnership with business, he meant it.

“We respect the expertise of business leaders and want their voice at the heart of policymaking.

“That’s why we’re getting them around the table before the strategy is published, so it works for the industries it’s designed to benefit.”

On Friday, Sky News revealed that Sir Keir would use his speech at the investment summit to say that his administration will scrutinise watchdogs across a range of industries to ensure that they are not acting as barriers to growth.

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Sir Keir is said by officials to be determined to deliver the message that regulators such as Ofwat, Ofgem, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority should be focused on the competitiveness of the UK economy.

The event is being seen as a test of Labour’s economic agenda in the eyes of investors which wield influence over the destination of trillions of pounds of investment funding.

His speech will come, however, against the backdrop of a financial crisis at Thames Water, Britain’s biggest water utility, which is backed by sovereign wealth funds and pension funds from countries including Abu Dhabi, Canada and China.

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that global investors have become so alarmed by Ofwat’s approach to the Thames Water crisis that they are reluctant to commit further sums to British infrastructure projects.

On Thursday, the government appointed Poppy Gustafsson, the former boss of cybersecurity company Darktrace, as investment minister, ensuring that the government avoided the ignominy of staging Monday’s summit without a minister for investment being in place.

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Clare Barclay, who leads Microsoft’s operations in the UK, has been appointed to chair a new Industrial Strategy Council.

Officials declined to comment on Sunday on the headline figures that would be announced at the summit.

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Oct 11 2024

Post Office boss Nick Read admits attempts to get pay rise look ‘very poor’ | Business News

Post Office boss Nick Read has admitted his attempts to get a pay rise while victims were still waiting for compensation “looks very poor”.

Giving evidence on his third and final day at the inquiry into the Horizon scandal, the outgoing chief executive denied trying to get more money “interfered” with his ability to carry out his role.

“I don’t believe that to be the case,” he told Sam Stein KC. “I am very aware of the furore around my pay and remuneration, I’m not in any way deaf to that.”

He continued: “It looks very poor in light of the victims who are still waiting for their compensation and I very much regret the furore that has exploded and as a consequence of that has been a distraction for everybody.”

Henry Staunton, former chair of the Post Office, previously told the inquiry he had asked the government twice to double Mr Read’s pay and said the chief executive had threatened to resign over it.

Speaking to Sky News afterwards, Mr Staunton said: “It was taking up a disproportionate [amount of] time without question… it must have been taking a disproportionate amount of his energy I think.”

Mr Read was also asked about a letter he sent to the Lord Chancellor on 9 January this year after the ITV drama about the scandal was shown.

A note provided by the Post Office’s legal counsel was attached stating it was “highly likely that the vast majority of people who have not yet appealed were, in fact, guilty as charged and were safely convicted”.

Mr Read denied it had been intended to persuade the government against introducing a mass exoneration of sub-postmasters.

The letter and note were published on the Post Office website.

When asked if that was the “view of the general executive”, Mr Read said he did not believe that was the case but agreed publishing the letter and note “looks pretty appalling”.

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Mr Read was also asked where sub-postmasters’ money, used to pay non-existent shortfalls in their branches, had gone.

He said a number of external forensic accountants had been “trying to assess what it is that has gone and where it has gone”.

The accountants have identified a figure of “somewhere in the region of £36m between 1999 and 2015,” he said – the years during which hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly accused of stealing.

“It’s our best endeavour in terms of where we’ve got to,” Mr Read added.

Mr Read joined the Post Office in 2019 and is due to stand down from the role in March 2025.

The final phase of the Post Office inquiry is due to end in mid-November.

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Oct 7 2024

TGI Fridays secures rescue deal – but with loss of more than 1,000 jobs | Business News

TGI Fridays will remain on UK high streets after a rescue deal was secured for the restaurant chain – but more than 1,000 staff have lost their jobs.

Thirty-five restaurants are closing immediately after they were not included in the sale, resulting in 1,012 redundancies.

However, 51 sites have been rescued in the sale to Breal Capital and Calveton, a day after Sky News reported a deal was being finalised.

It means nearly 2,400 jobs have been saved across the chain.

Trade union Unite said on X that staff had been shut out of restaurants with padlocks on the doors changed, while others were invited to a video call with members of the head office with one hour’s notice.

Other workers said they had not been told whether or not they will be paid, according to the trade union.

TFI Fridays’ parent company Hostmore said it was filing for administration last month due to debt problems.

The restaurants being saved are:

Bluewater
Trafford Centre
Meadowhall
Aberdeen Union Square
Metrocentre
Basildon
Glasgow Fort
Milton Keynes Stadium
Braehead
Wembley
Birmingham NEC
Glasgow
Junction 27
Castleford
Lakeside Quay
Teesside
Bolton
Norwich
St Davids
Doncaster
Lakeside
Fareham
Liverpool One
Stevenage
White Rose
Cribbs Causeway
Rushden Lakes
Stoke-on-Trent
Southampton
Silverburn
Watford Central
Aberdeen Beach
Braintree
Bournemouth
Stratford
High Wycombe
Cheshire Oaks
Walsall
Milton Keynes
Sheffield
Nottingham
Edinburgh
Coventry
Ashton-Under-Lyne
Telford
The O2
Staines
Crawley
Reading
Cheadle
Leicester Square.

Julie McEwan, chief executive of TGI Fridays UK, said: “The news today marks the start of a positive future for our business following a very challenging period for the casual dining sector as a whole.

“We are devastated for our colleagues who will be leaving TGIs and thank them for their loyalty and contribution during their time with us.

“We are doing everything possible to retain our team and support those impacted.”

New private equity owners Breal and Calveton jointly own upmarket restaurant chain D&D London, and between them have had investments in Byron Burger and wine bar chain Vinoteca.

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Oct 3 2024

Huge shift in interest rate predictions as Bank of England chief says cuts could be more ‘aggressive’ | Business News

Financial markets are now pricing in a shock interest rate cut for the UK at the next Bank of England meeting following remarks by its governor.

There was a huge shift in expectations after Andrew Bailey told the Guardian that the bank could be “a bit more aggressive” in its approach.

He talked about inflation pressures being less persistent than expected but tempered his comments by saying that its main indicators on the pace of price growth would need to continue to fall.

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Mr Bailey also worried about the potential threat to prices from oil costs, given events in the Middle East. “Geopolitical concerns are very serious”.

“It’s tragic what’s going on”, he said of the escalation involving Israel and Iran’s proxies.

“There are obviously stresses and the real issue then is how they might interact with some still quite stretched markets in places.”

He said there appeared to be “a strong commitment to keep the [oil] market stable” but “there’s a point beyond which that control could break down if things got really bad”.

“You have to continuously watch this thing, because it could go wrong,” he concluded.

Oil costs have remained relatively stable this week despite worries over the potential threat to supplies in the event of a war between Israel and Iran.

Despite the caveats from Mr Bailey, 98% of market bets were on a rate cut of 0.25 percentage points for the Bank’s meeting on 7 November. Most also saw a further cut coming in December.

Ahead of Thursday’s market open, a majority of investors had expected no change to the rate until December, given sticky elements from services inflation and continuing pressure from the pace of wage rises in the economy.

The Bank had warned in August that it would take a data-driven approach to cuts beyond the quarter point reduction it introduced at that time.

The Bank rate was held at 5% at September’s meeting.

August’s decline marked the first downwards move to borrowing costs since the Bank began hiking rates aggressively in December 2021.

The rises were initially a response to the price growth seen as the economy re-opened following COVID restrictions but inflation soon soared when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked the energy-driven cost of living crisis.

Market hopes of a reduction as soon as the next meeting of the Bank’s monetary policy committee could help fixed rate mortgage costs ease further and more quickly.

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The shift in rate cut expectations meant that the pound’s winning run of 2024 found a reverse gear.

Sterling was a cent and a half down against the US dollar and a cent lower versus the euro to stand at $1.31 and just under €1.19 respectively.

Higher interest rates tend to be supportive of a domestic currency.

The pound’s decline was also aided by closely-watched business survey data that showed a decline in the pace of price growth being passed on in the services sector – bolstering Mr Bailey’s rate cut case.

The S&P Global report showed inflation on prices charged at its lowest level since February 2021.

The FTSE 100 opened 0.2% up, with the weaker pound boosting constituents who make money abroad, as those revenues are worth more when booked back in the UK.

Housebuilders were also among those to benefit as the prospect of lower interest rates will encourage buyers on affordability grounds.

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Oct 1 2024

Mulberry rejects Mike Ashley’s takeover bid | Business News

Mulberry, the struggling UK luxury brand, has rejected a proposed takeover bid by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.

Frasers, which is majority owned by the tycoon and best-known for its Sports Direct brand, made an offer on Monday that valued Mulberry at £83m.

The company is the second largest shareholder in Mulberry, with a 37% holding.

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It claimed to be acting to prevent “another Debenhams situation” after apparently being kept in the dark over a move by Mulberry, last Friday, to raise cash.

Mulberry, best known for its handbags, has been battling weak demand amid a global luxury slump and revealed last week it had fallen sharply into the red during its last financial year as a result of the challenges.

Its annual accounts had contained a warning that the downturn had resulted in a “material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt on the group and parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern” if it persisted.

Mulberry responded on Tuesday by declaring that the proposal by Frasers, which has been run by Mr Ashley’s son-in-law Michael Murray since 2022, did not recognise the company’s “substantial future potential value”.

The bid, it also said, did not have the support of its majority shareholder.

Mulberry said it had discussed the approach with Singapore-based Challice – controlled by billionaire Ong Beng Seng and his wife Christina.

The firm put faith in its recently appointed chief executive Andrea Baldo to drive a turnaround and said it would stick with the plans for a capital raising.

This “provides the company with a solid platform to execute a turnaround and, ultimately, to deliver best value for all Mulberry shareholders,” it concluded.

Frasers’ approach, worth 130p per share, valued the stake in the company it does not own at £52.4m.

Under UK takeover rules, it has until 28 October to make a firm offer for Mulberry or walk away.

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Mulberry shares were trading 3% lower on Tuesday morning.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said of the battle: “Ashley’s blood is likely to be boiling at being kept out of the loop by Mulberry with its fundraising plan last Friday, given that Frasers owns 37% of the company.

“Ashley may no longer run Frasers but as the majority owner of the retail conglomerate, you can be sure he’s active behind the scenes. The stake in Mulberry was also acquired when he was in charge of Frasers, so he’s likely to take the snub personally.

“Mulberry’s fundraising looks dangerously close to being a cash call simply to keep the lights on. Frasers has now stepped in with a possible takeover offer – it’s not a particularly generous one, but this situation doesn’t deserve it.”

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