Move comes despite good Christmas
Iceland joint managing director Stuart Ross has left the company suddenly, despite its impressive set of Christmas results.

Ross left the food business, in which investor Baugur is a key shareholder, three weeks ago after joining less than a year earlier from Tesco, where he was supply chain director.

A spokeswoman confirmed his departure, but refused to comment further. Iceland chief executive Malcolm Walker was not available for comment.

However, Ross is believed to have left after a clash of personalities with senior management.

Like-for-like sales at the 675-store Iceland chain increased 14.8 per cent in the three months to December and 16.1 per cent in the final month. When Baugur acquired Iceland in a complex deal in February last year, sales were falling 10 per cent.

Earlier this week, Iceland announced it had closed a total of 46 stores since the takeover and had agreed to sell 28 leaseholds to M&S for£38 million, to be converted to Simply Food.

The arrival of Ross was seen as a huge boost to Malcolm Walker's team, which is completed by former BFG finance boss Andrew Pritchard and former Iceland finance chief Tarsem Dhaliwal.

Iceland has attributed its success in the past 12 months to refocusing on 'innovative, value-for-money frozen food'. It said the recent sales rise means overall sales will surpass that achieved by the previous management before the takeover was complete.