Ananova:

JJB chairman Sir David Jones is set to face a showdown with rival Mike Ashley today over a controversial £1.5m loan.

The two men have been feuding over cash lent by Mr Ashley to Sir David at around the time the latter joined the board of JJB - which is a direct rival of Mr Ashley's Sports Direct chain.

Billionaire Mr Ashley plans to send a representative to JJB's annual general meeting in Wigan - or may even turn up in person to quiz Sir David.

Sir David asked Mr Ashley for the loan in 2007 to fund a business venture called Advance Network Technologies.

In an AGM statement, JJB repeated its insistence that the matter began before Sir David joined the board and defended Sir David against what it called "personal and defamatory attacks" in relation to the loan.

But in letter released by Sports Direct, it maintains that the money changed hands on 25 October, weeks after Sir David took up his seat as non-executive on 1 October 2007.

The letter appeared to have Sir David's signature.

Although deadlines were missed on some initial repayments, Sir David paid off the outstanding loan in full when the saga erupted two weeks ago.

JJB's board says its chairman has its full support, while the chain's two biggest shareholders have said the spat is a "distraction".

But the dispute refuses to die down.

Mr Ashley is thought to have prepared an arsenal of questions to fire at his adversary and will challenge board members on what they knew about the agreement.

Ashley, who once held up to 20% of JJB shares, now has only a small stake in the firm.

A JJB spokesman said: "If he is a shareholder he has the right to attend and ask questions as do other shareholders."

Controversy has built over the loan because the pair are not only intense rivals but also trading partners.