A peerage for Mike Ashley if he can bring House of Fraser back to life

This column has consistently stood up for Mike Ashley, even when the lonesome billionaire’s notions of corporate governance at Sports Direct and staff welfare at its Shirebrook warehouse made that a challenging position to sustain — not to mention his troubled ownership of Newcastle United. Ashley has grown his core business over 35 years from one outlet in Maidenhead to a remarkably robust retail empire by doing the detail, taking shrewd bets and swallowing competitors. Reportedly genial in private, he has always been uncomfortable in public and has had to contend with a peculiar form of British snobbery, which is that we expect our self-made tycoons to evolve into toffs (like the late British Airways chairman Lord King, a former car salesman turned master of foxhounds) rather than, as Ashley seems to prefer, continuing to project the image of a sweaty football fan out for a rumble.

Some years ago I suggested he start the process of shifting upmarket by bidding for Harrods — but perhaps wisely he avoided tangling with its Qatari owners.