London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

JD Sports founder Peter Cowgill ousted 'with immediate effect'

JD Sports founder Peter Cowgill ousted 'with immediate effect'

Sky's Ian King says the City has been shocked by Mr Cowgill's sudden departure despite a string of negative headlines and criticism he had too much control of the FTSE 100 company.

Peter Cowgill, arguably the most successful British retailer of the last two decades, sensationally stepped down this evening as executive chairman of JD Sports amid speculation he had been ousted.

His departure, with immediate effect, was announced just 12 minutes before the close of today's stock market session and the news immediately sent shares of JD Sports down by just over 6% - wiping £377m from the company's market value.

Announcing the move, JD Sports said that, as a consequence of an ongoing review of its internal governance and controls, it had decided to accelerate the separation of the roles of chair and chief executive.

JD announced in July last year that it would split the roles of chairman and chief executive over the following 12 months following criticism of its corporate governance by shareholders.

Some investors in JD have long been concerned about the power Mr Cowgill wielded in the boardroom.

He has been running JD - which describes itself in its marketing as the 'King of Trainers' - without a chief executive since Barry Bown left in 2014.

Those concerns intensified when, in February, the company was fined £4.3m by the Competition and Markets Authority for failing to have safeguards in place, sharing commercially sensitive information and failing to alert the regulator over a meeting between Mr Cowgill and Mr Bown, who had gone on to become chief executive of Footasylum, which JD had previously owned but which it was forced to sell by the watchdog on competition grounds.

Some shareholders had also groused about a decision to pay Mr Cowgill a £4m bonus following a year in which JD received money from taxpayers for business rate relief and staff furloughs during COVID lockdowns.

JD said on Wednesday evening that Helen Ashton, currently a non-executive director at JD Sports and chair of the company's audit and risk committee, would become interim non-executive chair.

Ms Ashton, who joined the JD board in November last year, has previously held executive level roles at the online fashion retailer ASOS, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays.

Peter Cowgill, executive chairman of JD Sports


Kath Smith, currently JD's senior independent director, will become interim chief executive. She previously worked in the sector as managing director of the Adidas and Reebok brands and at the outdoor clothing group The North Face.

Ms Ashton said: "The business has developed strongly under Peter's leadership into a world-leading multi-channel retailer with a proven strategy and clear momentum.

"However, as our business has become bigger and more complex, what is clear is that our internal infrastructure, governance and controls have not developed at the same pace.

"As we capitalise on the great opportunities ahead of us, the board is committed to ensuring that we have the highest standards of corporate governance and controls appropriate to a FTSE-100 company to support future growth."

Speculation that 67-year old Mr Cowgill was nearing the end of his time at the company intensified when, in January this year, he sold £21m worth of shares in JD - equivalent to half his shareholding in the company.


Mr Cowgill's departure brings down the curtain on one of the most successful retailing careers of recent times.

The Manchester United supporter, famed in the retail sector for his workaholic, seven-day-a-week approach to the job, had been at the helm since 2004 and taken JD Sports from being a small retailer to a FTSE 100 member with more than 2,500 outlets worldwide that, until recently, was valued at more than £8bn.

His genius was to identify the emerging trend for so-called 'athleisure' and spot that four brands - Reebok, Nike, Puma and Adidas - were set to dominate the sector.

He built close relationships with all of them and, unlike his rival Mike Ashley at Sports Direct, did his best to hug those suppliers close rather than fall out with them.

The stockbroker AJ Bell calculated in November last year that, since he became executive chairman in 2004, Mr Cowgill generated total shareholder returns of more than 15,000% - compared with just 211% for the FTSE 100.

Mr Cowgill is credited with identifying the trend for so-called 'athleisure'


Mr Cowgill, who grew up in Kearsley, just outside Bolton, was an entrepreneur from an early age, selling books on a rug from outside his family's front door.

Standing out at school for outstanding skills in arithmetic, he studied at the University of Hull before qualifying as a chartered accountant but quickly left the firm he had qualified to set up his own accounting business, Cowgill Holloway, at the age of 28 above a Bolton barber shop. David Makin and John Wardle - the J and D in JD Sports - were among his first clients and he eventually ended up working with them.

Renowned for keeping his feet on the ground, despite his wealth, he prefers to drink with his old friends at his local, the Spread Eagle in Kearsley, over the high life.

Despite complaints from some investors over JD's corporate governance, Mr Cowgill's departure is likely to be greeted with dismay in some parts of the City, where he retains a substantial fan club.

Eleanora Dani, at the stockbroker and investment bank Shore Capital, said Mr Cowgill had been integral to JD's success. She said that, while the separation of his roles had been flagged a more gradual process had been expected, with Mr Cowgill remaining as chairman for a couple of years.

She added: "The company is tightly managed with excellent cash generation, tight stock, and cost controls. In our view, JD Sports remains a best-in-class retailer…however, we are disappointed to see Mr Cowgill leaving and look forward to hearing more from the company."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
×