Investor Standard Life seeks change at Sports Direct

Standard Life Investments has concerns about governance at Sports Direct and Volkswagen and will press for more change at the companies, it said in its annual governance report on Wednesday.

Mike Ashley's role as executive deputy chairman of retailer Sports Direct was "ill-defined and did not seem to reflect the reality of his influence at the company," Standard Life Investments (SLI) said, adding it had "major concerns" about the firm's remuneration policy.

At Volkswagen, SLI said "increased board independence is crucial to rebuilding trust" in the company.

Both companies were marked as "escalation candidates" in the investor's report, indicating it planned to ask for more changes in the way they are run.