A bitter retail rivalry spilled over into a general meeting yesterday when Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group blocked Boohoo’s attempt to change its holding company name to Debenhams.

Boohoo said it was “no surprise” that the Sports Direct owner voted its near-29% stake against the resolution.

It means the holding company will remain listed as Boohoo Group.

However, it will go ahead with the rebrand of its trading business and from Monday its ticker code on the London Stock Exchange will change to DEBS.

Frasers’ chief financial officer Chris Wootton explained the objection as concern at Boohoo “destroying shareholder value.”

He said that when that stops “Frasers Group as its biggest shareholder will be happy to support its proposals.”

Manchester-based Boohoo bought the Debenhams the department store brand out of administration four years ago but the plan to adopt the long-established brand name failed when it fell just short of the 66% vote required. While Frasers’ stake in Booohoo amounts to just under 29%, it was able to block the resolution as not all shareholders voted – raising its proportion of the vote to almost 38%.

Boohoo’s board said in a statement: “It is no surprise to the board that Frasers, a major competitor of the group, has voted against the resolution, and continues to act in its own self-interest.”

The long-running rivalry between Mr Ashley and Mahmud Kamani, the founder of Boohoo, peaked last year when Frasers took issue with Boohoo’s governance and performance.

Frasers failed in a bid to install Ashley and Mike Lennon, a restructuring expert, on Boohoo’s board and remove Mr Kamani as a director. However, it continues to push for Mike Lennon to gain a place on the board.

Boohoo chief executive Dan Finley added: “Debenhams is back, and we continue to move forward as Debenhams Group. The successful turnaround of Debenhams is the blueprint for the turnaround of the wider group. Our best days are ahead of us and I am excited for our future.”