Things are going from bad to worse for Mike Ashley. Newcastle United remains in turmoil, shares in Sports Direct International, sit at an all-time low, and today, Blacks Leisure, the retailer where he owns a 29 per cent stake, issued a shock profits warning. Its shares fell 12 per cent.

That another summer of poor British weather has hurt sales of its boardwear brands - O’Neill and Freespirit - should not come as too much of a surprise. The extent of the decline might do: sales were down a hefty 16.1 per cent against week comparisons last year. Moreover, the trends in its outdoor division - Millets and Blacks - were also worrying. Like-for-like sales fell 5.4 per cent over the first six months of its financial year, which implies a 13 per cent decline over the latest seven weeks.

The upshot is that Blacks now expects to make a first-half loss of £4.5 million and has initiated a strategic review of boardwear - although it is not clear who might buy the division in the current environment.

In the short term, Blacks’s cost cutting efforts are running ahead of plan. This summer’s trading also confirms the wisdom of the longer-term strategy of Neil Gillis, Blacks’s chief executive, to reduce the chain’s dependence on the weather.

The problem for investors - Mr Ashley included - is that, with forecasts continuing to fall, and Blacks not expected to make a profit in the next two financial years, the shares, at 78p, are still not obviously cheap. Avoid.

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