Charles Kay, managing director of Netto UK, has stepped down from the business, just six months after the hard discounter was sold to grocer Asda.

Kay has been with Netto UK since 2008, replacing former boss Richard Lancaster who moved to grocer Morrisons.

It is unclear if Kay has a position to move to. It had previously been thought that Kay would stay on until the conversion to Asda has been completed.

Asda bought the Danish hard discounter’s UK business in May for £778m. The deal means Asda can make its move into smaller supermarkets, with the average Netto store size around 10,000 sq ft.

Netto has operated in the UK since 1990 but failed to make the impact that rivals Aldi and Lidl have.