Frasers Group has amassed a position equivalent to 4.15% of voting rights in Burberry Group, a regulatory filing published on Tuesday (28 July) has revealed.
The filing stated that the UK retailer, controlled by billionaire Mike Ashley, increased the position through the sale of put options.
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The threshold was crossed on 27 July 2026.
It also showed that Frasers does not own any direct voting rights in Burberry.
Instead, it controls 4.15% of voting rights through financial instruments, consisting of three tranches of sold put options representing 15 million potential voting rights in total.
Two of the tranches expire in October 2026 and cover 3.49 million and four million rights, respectively.
The third tranche, which accounts for 7.51 million rights, runs until March 2027.
The disclosed figure is up from Frasers’ previously reported holding of 3.04%.
If the options were exercised, Frasers would be among Burberry’s ten biggest shareholders.
The move follows a wider pattern in the group’s holdings elsewhere.
Frasers is already the second-largest shareholder in Mulberry Group.
It had previously made a takeover approach for the handbag maker, which its board rejected in October 2024 on the basis that it undervalued the company.
The rejection was backed by Mulberry’s majority shareholder, Challice.
Frasers is also the largest investor in German fashion retailer Hugo Boss.
In March, the group built a 5.8% stake in sportswear company Puma, largely through derivatives.
Filings at the time showed that Frasers held an interest in 8.5 million Puma shares, mainly linked to put option purchases.
The filing also recorded that holding was under Frasers Group rather than under Mike Ashley or his investment vehicle, Mash Holdings.
That stake made Frasers Puma’s second-largest shareholder, behind only the Pinault family.
Earlier this year, Frasers Group agreed to acquire a majority stake in Maxi Sport, a multi-sport retail chain operating in Italy.
