The chairman of Sports Direct just about clung on to his position at the retailer following a shareholder revolt this week.
Keith Hellawell, who has held his current role at the business for the past eight years, had said he would step down if he did not have the backing of independent investors.
At a vote yesterday, Mr Hellawell secured the support of 53 per cent investors – the narrow majority he needed to remain in post.
Back in 2016, more than half of the shareholders had come out against the chairman, forcing a second vote. Ultimately he only remained in place because of support from majority shareholder and founder Mike Ashley – who has control of more than 60 per cent of the business.
While there will no doubt be relief at the outcome of the most recent vote, it has nonetheless been a tough 12 months for the retailer, which has come under intense scrutiny over working practices within the organisation.
At this week’s Annual General Meeting, Mr Hellawell defended the use of zero-hours contracts and denied there was a need for an independent review of the workplace culture.
In spite of recent controversies, he insisted that the majority of Sports Direct’s workers were content with the flexibility that current working arrangements offer.
“Zero-hours is still a legal form of employment in this country,” said the chairman. “I appreciate that a number of unions are against that but while it is still a legal form of employment we will choose it if we wish to continue with that.”
A spokesman for the Unite trade union said: “Promises have been broken regarding the treatment of workers and issues around corporate governance persist. The board and the chairman need to heed the message of the vote and clean its act up.”