Sports Direct share price: Proposed appointment at Findel faces more opposition

Home shopping and education supplies business Findel has secured the backing of another major shareholder in its effort to reject the resolutions proposed by Sports Direct (LON:SPD) at an upcoming general meeting.

The sporting goods retailer, founded by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, took a 19 percent stake in Findel back in September. Now Sports Direct is seeking to appoint its former representative Benjamin William Gardener as a non-executive director at the Kitbag owner.

A general meeting will be held on December 21. Findel yesterday announced that it had received an irrevocable undertaking from River & Mercantile Asset Management, which hold a 5.7 percent stake in the group, to vote against the resolution.

The shareholder joins forces with City institutions Tosca Asset Management and Schroders, meaning that a total of 43.9 percent of Findel’s issued share capital is already cast against Sports Direct’s proposition.

As of 14:09 GMT, Sports Direct’s share price was unchanged from its previous session’s closing level of 736.50p. Numis analyst Andrew Wade today retained his ‘buy’ recommendation and target price of 950p on the stock, which is among his ‘top picks’.

He revealed that his stance was based on the fact that the shares “trade at a slight discount to the sector average despite a superior growth record and, in our view, a far greater long term opportunity”.

“Its superior customer proposition has delivered significant UK share growth” Wade said in a note to clients.