Blacks Leisure to replace top management

Leading shareholders in Blacks Leisure are plotting a coup at the company in an attempt to replace its top management. A group led by Principle Capital Investment Trust - which holds 5 per cent of Blacks - and believed to include Intrinsic Value, which holds 7 per cent, is seeking a replacement for Keith Fleming, the chief executive. "There is a real ganging up going on at Blacks. The investors are looking at a shortlist of candidates and trying to effect a management change," said an executive close to the company. Mike Ashley, the entrepreneur whose Sports Direct chain is the largest shareholder in Blacks with a 29.5 per cent stake, is known to have been approached about joining the group but is understood to have declined. The position of Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust, which holds 12 per cent of Blacks, is unknown.