Frasers pays Murray £21m for property services
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is paying Michael Murray, its incoming chief executive and the tycoon’s prospective son-in-law, £20.9m to settle a consultancy bill before he takes over on 1 May.
Murray’s MM Prop Consultancy has advised Frasers, formerly Sports Direct, on property matters since 2017, a relationship that has been criticised for a lack of transparency.
A statement issued shortly before the stock market closed on Friday said the payment resolved the “unsettled value” of MM Prop’s contribution to the group.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is paying Michael Murray, its incoming chief executive and the tycoon’s prospective son-in-law, £20.9m to settle a consultancy bill before he takes over on 1 May.
Murray’s MM Prop Consultancy has advised Frasers, formerly Sports Direct, on property matters since 2017, a relationship that has been criticised for a lack of transparency.
A statement issued shortly before the stock market closed on Friday said the payment resolved the “unsettled value” of MM Prop’s contribution to the group.
Murray will earn a base salary of about £1m a year when he takes charge at Frasers and is in line for a bonus of up to £100m if the company’s share price hits certain benchmarks over the next four years.
He is engaged to marry the eldest of Ashley’s three children, Anna, a property developer who sits on the board of her father’s company.
Murray, MM Prop’s sole director, was paid 25% of any value created from his services to Frasers. Friday’s statement said he agreed to waive some contractually due amounts, but the payment is still far bigger than any made in previous years.
“The agreement with MM Prop Consultancy Ltd has delivered significant financial and strategic value for the group and its stakeholders,” Frasers said.
When Murray was appointed last year, Frasers credited him with driving a modernisation of the stores and the purchase of a new headquarters on London’s Oxford Street.
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