Booker chief to lead Tesco’s UK business

Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, said on Monday that Booker boss Charles Wilson would stay on and run its UK business once it completed the £3.7bn takeover of the wholesaler.

Tesco also forecast profit for 2017-18 would come in slightly ahead of analysts’ expectations, adding that it had traded in line with management expectations since it last updated investors on January 11.

Tesco’s purchase of Booker is the boldest move yet by CEO Dave Lewis, who took over in 2014, providing the supermarket group with access to the fastergrowing catering segment.

After completion of the deal, Wilson, who has led Booker since 2005, will become CEO of Tesco’s retail and wholesale operations in the UK and Ireland. The division made up 63% of Tesco’s profit in 2016-17.

The appointment, although not a surprise, put him in pole position to take over from Lewis, analysts said.

Wilson “brings substantial commercial and retail experience and has an exceptional track record of increasing performance and driving growth in customerfocused businesses”, Lewis said. Named the 2017 Sunday Times Business Person of the Year, Wilson is credited with pulling Booker back from the brink when he took over the top job at the unprofitable company, having previously held roles at Procter & Gamble, Arcadia and Marks & Spencer.

TRACK RECORD

While some shareholders remained sceptical about Tesco’s move to buy Booker, several told Reuters at the time that they welcomed the chance to bring Wilson into the fold.

“Wilson has an excellent track record at Booker and we expect the appointment to be taken positively by the market,” analysts at Bernstein said.

Tesco’s UK boss, Matt Davies, will step down at the end of April, when he will have been in the role for three years.

Wilson will receive a base salary of £575,000, an annual bonus of up to 200% of salary and an annual performance share plan award of up to 225% of salary.

Lewis had a total remuneration package worth £4.15m in the 2016-17 financial year.

Shares in Tesco, down 3.4% so far in 2018 after the January update disappointed, were down 0.7% in morning trade in London.