Frasers Group has called on boohoo to appoint its owner, Mike Ashley, as its chief executive officer (CEO) and director.

The firm, which is boohoo’s majority shareholder with a 27% stake, said in an open letter that it also wants to appoint Mike Lennon as a director of the fashion retailer "without delay".

It comes after boohoo’s CEO, John Lyttle, announced that he was to step down from the role.

Frasers said that it "firmly believes that these appointments are in the best interests of boohoo, its shareholders and its stakeholders".

It added that with "significant investment" in the firm, it believes the appointments are the "only way to set a new course for boohoo’s future".

The open letter addressed an "abysmal trading performance" by boohoo, with its revenue for the six-month period to 31 August dropping by 36.5% between 2021 and 2024.

It also described the debt refinancing that was announced by boohoo in its latest business update as "wholly unsatisfactory".

Investment director at AJ Bell, Russ Mould, stated: "After a period out of the spotlight it looks like Mike Ashley could be returning to the frontline of retail as Frasers uses its stake in boohoo to call for a vote on him being appointed as its new CEO.

"Ashley has left the day-to-day running of Frasers to his son-in-law Michael Murray since 2022 but today’s news suggest he is itching to get back to the coalface and, if his bid to lead Boohoo is successful, it’s unlikely to be a quiet tenure.

"boohoo is vulnerable amid the news CEO John Lyttle is set to step down and the ongoing strategic review which could see the business broken up. Given the mess boohoo has got itself into it could take all of Ashley’s nous and experience to turn things around."

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