JD Sports’s boss sold £13m of shares as a company the retailer owns teetered on the brink of collapse
JD Sports’s boss sold £13m of shares as a company the retailer owns teetered on the brink of collapse.
The FTSE 100 sports-fashion chain confirmed it planned to put its subsidiary Go Outdoors into administration, putting 2,400 jobs and 67 stores in jeopardy.
JD Sports has filed for court protection as a way of keeping creditors at bay as it considers a ‘number of strategic options’ for the outdoor chain, which sells kit for camping, fishing and walking.
Walking a tightrope: JD confirmed it plans to put its subsidiary Go Outdoors into administration, leaving 2,400 jobs and 67 stores in jeopardy
But on June 5, JD’s executive chairman Peter Cowgill sold £13.3m of shares at an average price of 671.7p per share. Yesterday shares in the company fell 2.5 per cent, or 16p, to 631p on the back of the Go Outdoors news. An insider said the sale was for ‘reasons of family financial planning’ and did not break rules.
If Cowgill had waited until last night to sell the shares he would have made £807,000 less from the sale. Go Outdoors has struggled in lockdown as it relies on its physical stores for most of its sales.
JD is likely to use an insolvency process to restructure the company, and could shut stores and axe staff.
The retailer added that ‘Go’s creditors cannot take legal action or continue with any existing legal proceedings against the company without the court’s permission’ for ten days.