Standard Life Aberdeen of Edinburgh and other major independent shareholders in Sports Direct International said on Friday that they will vote against the re-election of Keith Hellawell, chairman of the company, and Simon Bentley, one of its directors, at the company's annual meeting scheduled for next Wednesday. They are also said to be likely to vote against a proposed share buyback program. Thanks to the backing of Mike Ashley, who holds a controlling stake in SDI, Hellawell withstood two previous challenges from the company's other shareholders, but he said that this time he will resign if a majority of them vote against him. Leading investment advisers have cited recent governance issues and flagging profits. SDI announced on Aug. 25 that Ashley, who is acting as chief executive of the group, would not attend the annual meeting this time “due to conflicting demands for his time in other areas of the business.”

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