Rangers shareholder Mike Ashley has seen his personal fortune soar by a staggering £100 million as a result of the General Election.
The sportswear tycoon had been facing an employment headache if Labour won power.
Ed Miliband’s pledge to scrap zero-hours contracts and raise the minimum wage meant the Sports Direct magnate faced sizeable and expensive changes to the way he ran his business.
But with Cameron retaining the keys to Downing Street and failing to back calls to scrap zero-hour contracts, Sports Direct has seen its share value rise by 5%.
Fiercely private Ashley who owns Newcastle United as well as a 9% share in Rangers reportedly owns 55% of Sports Direct. Estimates suggest last week’s shares surge meant an extra £106 million for the businessman.
Britain’s biggest sporting goods retailer employs around 75% of its 19,000 UK workers on zero-hour contracts.
Newcastle United fans are aghast at Ashley’s lack of investment in the side. The Magpies drew 1-1 with West Brom yesterday, leaving them just above the relegation zone.
In March, the chairman of Ashley’s retail empire was grilled by MPs over the company’s use of zero-hours agreements. Keith Hellawell claimed it was in line with other retailers.
He said: “We are probably not much different from other people in the retail business. It is just that we are so big, so the numbers are quite substantial.”
He went on to claim the firm was re-evaluating the use of the contracts. But he warned any switch to permanent contracts would result in higher costs and fewer jobs.
Politicians had hoped Ashley would attend the hearing but he pulled out. However, Hellawell said Ashley would be willing to face lawmakers in the future.
The businessman was also asked to explain to MPs about the circumstances surrounding how workers at its fashion arm USC’s Scottish warehouse were made redundant in January.
The stores were bought out of administration a day later by another Sports Direct fashion unit, Republic, and continue to trade.
However, workers at the Ayrshire warehouse were given just 15 minutes’ notice before they lost their jobs.
Nearly 700,000 people are on zero-hours contracts according to official statistics.
FTSE 100 Index firms added £40 billion to their value after last week’s Tory win
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