Lawyers accused the investment bank of a "class-driven" decision when it attempted to force Frasers Group to abandon bets on the share price of Hugo Boss in 2021, The Telegraph reported. In court filings quoting bank staff, Frasers said Ashley, who was then CEO, was viewed as an "upstart", who would have "zero respect to the norms of the way in which we do business". The group said that Morgan Stanley's negative reaction when Ashley tried to become a client was "class driven, no doubt about it".