Mike Ashley and his troubled relationship with the City

The owner of Sports Direct has battled with investors since his company's stock market debut

The farce over Sports Direct's annual results is the latest fraught episode in Mike Ashley's relationship with the City.

Shares in the company sank on the group's stock market debut in 2007 and continued their downward trajectory for two years as profits disappointed and Ashley, the founder and controlling shareholder, kept his distance from investors and the media. A pick up in trading then won over fund managers, helping to nearly triple Sports Direct's share price, taking the company's value to a peak of more than 5bn by mid 2014.