On May 1, Michael Murray, 32, accepted not only the reins of Frasers Group, becoming its new CEO, but also an up-front cash payment of about £21 million (€25m). The sum stems from Frasers’ deal with Murray’s firm, MM Prop Consultancy, which is entitled to as much as a quarter of the value it creates for its client, the owner of Sports Direct and Evans Cycles, as well as the Flannels fashion chain, the House of Fraser department-store chain, the Game gaming retailer, and the apparel brand Jack Wills.
According to Frasers’ board of directors, the deal with MM Prop “has delivered significant financial and strategic value for the group and its stakeholders.”
There is, in fact, more to the deal. For one thing, its “finalisation and cessation,” according to Frasers, entails a 40 percent discount. For another, Murray could be awarded a bonus of more than £100 million (€199m) in company stock if, by Oct. 7, 2025, he manages to raise the share price to £15 (€18) or more for 30 consecutive days. We first reported on this deal in August of last year. As of this writing, the stock is trading at just under £7. The bonus scheme was not too popular with independent shareholders, not quite half of whom voted against it, but Frasers said the decision to go ahead followed an assessment conducted “with the assistance of independent third-party experts.”
All of this follows the £2.5 million (€3.0m) Murray received from the company in 2021 and the £9.7 million (€11.5m) he received from 2019 to 2020. By comparison, Sports Direct’s former CEO Dave Forsey earned an annual £150,000 (€178,000).
Murray has been working alongside founder and outgoing CEO Mike Ashley since about 2011 when he met Ashley’s daughter, who has since become his fiancée. Meanwhile, in addition to his work with the consultancy, Murray has been helping Ashley with real estate deals unconnected to the company.
Ashley remains in control of Frasers’, holding a 67 percent stake, and will retain a seat on the board as an executive director.
