Debenhams appoints Rachel Osborne as new CFO

Struggling department store chain Debenhams has appointed former Domino's Pizza CFO Rachel Osborne as its new chief financial officer.

Osborne, who has also held roles at B&Q owner Kingfisher and John Lewis, will join the group on 17 September. Her predecessor Matt Smith, who informed the board of his intention to leave back in April, will depart at the end of August.

Chief executive officer Sergio Bucher said: "I am looking forward to working with Rachel. She has deep experience across a variety of retail and customer-facing businesses and her commercial expertise will be invaluable as we build a strong financial foundation to underpin the transformation of Debenhams."

Osborne said: "This is a challenging time for UK retail but Debenhams has a strong heritage, leading market positions and a credible plan for its future. I look forward to being part of the team delivering the transformation."

Shares in Debenhams - which has suffered a string of profit warnings - were boosted earlier this month by news that Sports Direct, which owns a 30% stake in the retailer, had purchased House of Fraser. Market participants have been speculating that Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley might eventually take Debenhams over and merge it with HoF.