Billionaire Mike Ashley, the founding father of Sports Direct and proprietor of Newcastle United runs a sprawling retail empire – together with sports clothing manufacturers, House of Fraser, Evans Cycles, underwear company Agent Provocateur, luxurious type chain Flannels – and main shareholdings in Debenhams and French Connection.

With many bricks-and-mortar shops suffering due to a mixture of emerging rents and lengthening on-line festival, may just Mr Ashley end up to be their saviour? He himself says “politicians and landlords should be doing more to save our struggling High Streets”.