Former New Look finance boss Alastair Miller has emerged as one of the candidates to replace Debenhams finance director Simon Herrick.

Miller exited New Look in April after 14 years at the firm, a year after he completed an £800m bond issue to repay some of the heavily indebted retailer’s debt.

He is a contender to replace Herrick who resigned after Debenhams had a poor Christmas, which led to its first-half profits tumbling 24.5% to £85.2m. He also caused controversy after he charged suppliers a fee in the midst of Christmas trading.

Debenhams is expected to reveal a small improvement in like-for-likes when it updates to the city on Friday.