Morrisons overhauls board to prepare for 'special projects'

The blue chip grocer said Trevor Strain would become group commercial director, as well as finance director, and adopt the new title of group chief finance and commercial officer.

Current commercial director Darren Blackhurst, who is widely credited with successfully overhauling Morrison’s commercial activities, is moving to a special projects role reportable directly to David Potts, chief executive.

Potts said Strain had played a “critical part in the ongoing turnaround of Morrisons, and his responsibilities are already significantly wider that those of traditional chief financial officers.”

James Grzinic, equity analyst at Jefferies, said Strain had a strong track record: “In reality, [his] remit has been much wider than the traditional finance role for some time, having been in charge of property, fuel, online, popular and useful services and strategy since 2014/15. Morrisons’ progress in fuel, [its] largest product category with sales of £3.7bn in 2017/18, speaks for itself.”

Shore Capital’s Clive Black added: “We see this change, and the concomitant adjustments to management reporting lines, as the ongoing evolution of Morrisons’ human capital. Morrisons has been a very successful turnaround story, with Blackhurst and Strain key cogs in the delivery engine, and we believe the future remains bright.”

Faced with stiff competition from discounters in particular, and plummeting profits, Morrisons was forced into a major turnaround programme, including cutting prices and closing less profitable stores. Last month, Morrison reported its best quarterly-sales growth in nine years, bolstered the World Cup and heatwave, although interim profits were hit by a one-off restructuring charge.

Both Jefferies and Shore Capital advise Morrisons.