(Adds details on Grant Thornton's exit, background)
Oct 23 (Reuters) - Mike Ashley's retail group Sports Direct
International said on Wednesday it had appointed RSM UK
Group as
its auditors, after Grant Thornton abruptly quit earlier this
year.
The company had said in August that Grant Thornton, the
group's auditor since 2007, would not seek reappointment at
Sport Direct's annual shareholders' meeting following a review
of its client portfolio.
The British sporting goods retailer had said discussions
with other members of the "Big Four" accounting firms had thrown
up barriers, including potential conflicts of interest and in
the case of PwC a reluctance to engage with Sports Direct.
Sports Direct's results were delayed in July after it
received an 11th-hour 674 million euro tax bill from Belgian
authorities that had to be assessed by Grant Thornton before it
could sign off on the numbers.
In its previous results statement, the British sporting
goods retailer said Grant Thornton had "vast experience" of the
company and it intended to reappoint the firm for another year.
(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard
Orr)