Frasers Group owner Mike Ashley has claimed he was the victim of “abuse” by Morgan Stanley as a High Court dispute over the investment bank’s decision to impose a near $1bn (£790m) cash demand on his firm continues.
Frasers is taking legal action against the US investment bank and Denmark’s Saxo Bank over the May 2021 move linked to bets placed on shares in the German retailer Hugo Boss.
Frasers wants £40m in compensation for alleged costs and lost trading profits after Morgan Stanley imposed a “margin call” – a demand for collateral – to cover any potential losses on shares in Hugo Boss that the UK retail group was speculating on.
Lawyers for Frasers told the court the margin call was made by the US bank to allegedly produce “the forced eviction or close out of Frasers’ open positions in Hugo Boss shares”.
