JOHN LEWIS and Waitrose have appointed a group chief executive.

Former Hovis and Burger King executive Nish Kankiwala, currently a John Lewis Partnership non-executive director, takes up the new post on March 27.

The news arrived as the staff-owned business prepared to announce its second-ever full-year loss, with employees missing out on their annual bonus for the second time in three years.

The group is expected to report an annual pre-tax loss before one-offs of approximately £50 million (€57.14 million) compared with last year’s £181 million (€206.9 million), mainly due to Waitrose’s problems.

Retail director Naomi Simcock and Waitrose James Bailey who previously reported directly to the partnership’s chairwoman, Sharon White, will now report to Kankiwala, as will five other directors.

These include Finance director, Berangere Michel, and Transformation and Technology officer Zaka Mian, who was engaged in November 2022.

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