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<br />Mike Ashley took his stake in Asos to over 10 per cent as the troubled fast fashion retailer returned to profit. <br>The billionaire's company Frasers Group, which counts Sports Direct and House of Fraser among its brands, now holds 10.5 per cent of Asos shares. <br>It marks the third time Frasers has raised its stake in a fortnight, after making two investments last week. <br>The swoop by Ashley will fuel speculation Asos is a takeover target after a morethan-90 per cent fall in its share price in little over two years. <br>‘This is a vote of confidence in Asos' turnaround plan with Frasers Group looking to expand its presence in retail e-commerce, and potentially a step towards acquiring a controlling majority in the business,' said Sarah Riding, retail partner at Gowling WLG. <br>      (image:  )    Stake: Mike Ashley 's company Frasers Group, which counts Sports Direct and House of Fraser among its brands, now holds 10.5% of Asos shares<br>‘The increase in stake follows Frasers' typical strategy of investing in financially struggling brands and rejuvenating them.' <br>Shares in Asos surged 14.8 per cent, or 48.4p, to 376.4p, as investors cheered a return into the black, a sign the company was making headway in improving its fortunes. <br>Asos hailed a ‘return to profitability' in the three months to the end of May and said it was on course to make £40million to £60million in the second half of the year. <br>It pledged to buy less stock and slash options for customers to cut costs as it booked a £291million loss in the six months to February 28, with City experts saying it needed to get its house in order. <br>Asos chief executive Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte said: ‘I am confident in the direction we are going, we have restored profitability and made good progress in clearing through our inventory to generate cash.' <br>  RELATED ARTICLES                Share this article Share      HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP        Last month Asos raised £75million to support its turnaround plan. <br>  Yesterday's update was not totally positive though, with sales down 14 per cent in the three months to May 31. <br>Asos, whose ownership of the Topshop brand is thought to be particularly attractive to suitors, is valued at just over £400million. <br>Ashley is the third-largest shareholder and his interest has pitted him against Asos's biggest backer, Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen. <br>The retailer's shares soared during lockdown but have since tumbled as rising living costs squeezed its key 16-to34-year-old customer base.<br>  #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile display:none #fiveDealsWidget display:block; 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display:inline-block #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage width:35%; margin-right:1% #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent width:63% #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate clear:both    DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS              Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. This does not affect our editorial independence.                ROTTERDAM, May 16 (Reuters) - After securing the league title in the Netherlands with Feyenoord at the weekend, coach Arne Slot is the latest emerging Dutch coach linked with a potential move to the Premier League.<br> Slot has been widely hailed for the convincing manner in which Feyenoord clinched only their second league title in two decades but has refused to commit himself to the Rotterdam club, despite having qualified for the Champions League.<br> Instead, Slot told reporters, amid ecstatic celebrations in Rotterdam on Monday with more than 100,000 celebrating the club's success in the port city, it was not the right time to discuss his future.<br> Supporters, who crowded into the city centre, chanted his name and demanded he stay.<br> "It is well known that I still have a contract with two more years and for the moment there is nothing more for me to say," Slot said, as speculation mounted over a possible move to England, like compatriot Erik ten Hag who left for Manchester United after winning the title last year with Ajax Amsterdam.<br> Slot has been linked in British media reports with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, who have still not chosen a successor to Antonio Conte since they parted ways with the Italian coach in March.<br> Slot has revolutionised Feyenoord's playing style in his two seasons at the club, adopting a high intensity, attacking style that had purists purring and ensured domestic dominance.<br> The 44-year-old had to rebuild the team this season, even after reaching last season's Europa Conference League final, when 16 players left in a bid to balance the books.<br> It meant giving young players an opportunity, which he did not hesitate to do, with a bevy of new talent emerging, like Lutsharel Geertruida and Mats Wieffer, who this year won their first caps for the Netherlands.<br> Slot was a journeyman midfielder in his career but always wanted to be a coach, with his first major job at AZ Alkmaar, first under John van den Brom, and then head coach from 2019.<br> "What was nice for me is that he always thought in an attacking way," Van den Brom said.<br> Feyenoord icon Willem van Hanegem this week called on the coach to immediately make clear his intentions but Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the last Feyenoord boss to win the league in 2017, said Slot would take his time to make any decision.<br> "That's the kind of person he is, he will make a sensible choice," Van Bronckhorst said.  (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Christian Radnedge)<br>