A co-founder of online fashion retailer Asos has died after falling from a high-rise apartment building in Thailand, according to local police.
Thai authorities have identified Quentin Griffiths as the man who was found dead on the ground in the eastern coastal city of Pattaya on 9 February.
A police investigator told the BBC that Griffiths, who held a British passport, had been alone at the time of the incident. Officers said his room was locked from the inside and there were no signs of forced entry. An autopsy found no evidence of foul play.
Griffiths helped establish Asos in 2000 and, although he left the business five years later, he remained a major shareholder.
In a statement, an Asos spokesperson said: “We’re saddened to hear about the passing of Quentin, one of our original co-founders. He played an important role in Asos’s earliest days and we’re forever grateful for his contribution. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British national who has died in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities.”
Police in Pattaya told the BBC that Griffiths was discovered outside a luxury hotel where he had been living as a long-term resident, occupying a suite on the 17th floor. Investigators also said he had been involved in two ongoing court cases, which may have caused him stress.
Griffiths was separated from his second wife, a Thai national, and was reportedly engaged in a legal dispute with her over a business they had operated together, the BBC understands.
He co-founded Asos in London alongside Nick Robertson, Andrew Regan and Deborah Thorpe. The company’s name originally stood for “As Seen On Screen”, reflecting its early focus on selling fashion inspired by clothing worn by television and film stars.
Over time, Asos expanded into a global online fashion marketplace, offering hundreds of third-party brands alongside its own labels. At its peak, the company was valued at more than £6bn.
Today, Asos’s largest shareholders include Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, owner of fashion group Bestseller, and Mike Ashley, who owns Frasers Group.
