Post Office chief quits weeks before he’s set to give evidence in Horizon IT inquiry
POST OFFICE boss Nick Read is stepping down after a torrid five years and just weeks before he gives evidence in the next stage of the Horizon IT inquiry.
Damningly, former postmaster Sir Alan Bates, the lead campaigner on the Horizon scandal, said Mr Read “hasn’t achieved anything” during his tenure.
Mr Read has run the Post Office since 2019 when he took over from former boss Paula Vennells, who this year forfeited her CBE after 1.2 million people signed a petition calling for her to be stripped of the award.
Mr Read said: “The past five years have been an extraordinarily challenging time for the business and postmasters.
“There remains much to be done for this great UK institution but the journey to reset the relationship with postmasters is well under way and our work to support justice and redress for postmasters will continue.”
The former army officer has faced intense scrutiny in the job, including facing misconduct allegations from which he was cleared earlier this year.
MPs publicly expressed a lack of confidence in his leadership at the business and trade committee in February while the inquiry also heard that he was “obsessed with his pay”.
In June he also had to apologise after the Post Office mistakenly published the home addresses of 555 wronged postmasters in what he called a “truly terrible error”.
Asked for reflections on Mr Read’s tenure, Sir Alan said: “Well, he really hasn’t achieved anything, has he?
“He certainly hasn’t done anything for the victims in all of this.”
The Post Office said Mr Read will be replaced by Neil Brocklehurst, interim chief operating officer.
Tesco push to get 6mil in work
THE economy could get a £454billion boost if there was more help given to the six million people unemployed or economically inactive who want to get a job.
Research by Tesco and the Social Market Foundation found that this “lost workforce” is often held back by barriers that could be easily overcome by careers support.
Tesco is launching free career clinics across the country from November.
Boss Ken Murphy said: “Millions of people are not working because they don’t feel ‘good enough’.
“I hope our career clinics will give them a confidence and skills boost.”
It Asda be Rose as boss
LORD Stuart Rose is taking over the running of Asda after billionaire co-owner Mohsin Issa stepped down as chief executive.
The supermarket chain’s serving chairman, who previously ran Marks & Spencer and chaired Ocado, declared Mr Issa’s “work is complete”.
The boardroom reshuffle comes a month after the City veteran said he was “embarrassed” by Asda’s downward sales spiral.
Asda said Lord Rose’s position was temporary and its lengthy search for a permanent chief executive remained ongoing.
It is understood David Potts, ex-boss of Morrisons, is not a front-runner, contrary to recent reports.
Industry sources have said many senior candidates felt they would not be running the business while Mohsin Issa was still involved with day-to-day operations.
When Lord Rose held the position of executive chairman at Marks & Spencer a decade ago, he came under heavy fire for breaching corporate governance rules.
Mohsin will now go back to running EG Group, the petrol empire he founded with his brother Zuber.
After a career and fortune built together, the brothers have been going their separate ways since Mohsin left his wife for Victoria Price, a former partner at EY.
Zuber has sold his stake in Asda and is stepping down from EG Group to run around 30 UK petrol station sites he is buying from EG.
Mohsin said he was proud of the “significant progress to build a bigger and better Asda over the last three years”.
He added there were “many opportunities” at EG.
Lord Rose said: “We respect Mohsin’s decision to move on from his role at Asda, where his work is complete.”
Lord Rose must now ensure the final stage of Asda’s IT overhaul does not fail and lose shoppers in the run up to Christmas.
Shares in soap on slide
SHARES in the maker of Imperial Leather and Carex soaps tumbled yesterday after it swung into the red.
PZ Cussons blamed the devaluation of the Nigerian naira currency for reporting a £95.9million annual loss compared to £61.8million profit the year before.
Shares in the FTSE 250 firm tumbled by 13 per cent yesterday, valuing the business at £388million.
The company is in the process of trying to offload its business in Africa as well as suncream brand St Tropez, which has been promoted by Ashley Graham and Kate Moss.
Analysts reckon St Tropez could be worth £100million — equivalent to more than a quarter of the entire company’s current valuation.
Boss Jonathan Myers said: “We are progressing with our plans to sell St Tropez and have received a number of expressions of interest for our African business.”
L&G sells builders
INSURANCE giant Legal & General is selling off its house-building business Cala back to one of its former owners in a £1.35billion deal.
Buyout firms Sixth Street Partners and Patron Capital have formed a joint venture to buy Cala.
Patron previously had a 46.5 per cent stake but offloaded it to L&G in 2018.
Cala, founded in 1875, sold just under 3,000 homes last year and is focused in the south of England, the Cotswolds and Scotland.
Rents hike pain
RENTS are still rising four times faster than the overall rate of inflation, figures show.
Renters are paying an average £1,286 a month, £109 more than a year ago, says the Office for National Statistics.
The average rise in costs in August was 8.4 per cent — four times higher than the headline rate of 2.2 per cent.
It comes as Rightmove data said St Albans, Herts, is the most expensive place to rent outside London, with tenants paying an average £2,307 a month.
Carlisle is the cheapest at £791 a month.
Banks under pressure
SAVERS are £4billion better off after the City watchdog put pressure on banks to improve easy access account rates.
The Financial Conduct Authority found average interest paid rose to 2.11 per cent in June 2024, from 1.666 per cent in July 2023.
Leccy car snub
SEVEN in ten drivers are against the looming ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and say they will not pay more for electric models.
Research by AutoTrader shows nearly two thirds of new car buyers have set aside £20,000.
But the average electric vehicle costs about £51,000.
The car industry has called for a VAT reduction on electric cars and public charging points.
The Government’s zero emission mandate demands electric cars make up 22 per cent of new cars sold in 2024, rising to 100 per cent by 2035.