Tesco has started the search for new candidates to replace its chair John Allan, according to a report by Sky News. 

Tesco is said to be working with recruiters to track down a replacement for Allan, who is set to step down next year after serving for nearly a decade. 

After the stint, Allan would be considered ‘timed out’ from the position and no longer regarded as independent under corporate governance guidelines. 

According to the report, a number of “heavyweight boardroom figures” have already been approached for the role in recent weeks. 

The search is being led internally by former BP finance chief Byron Grote who is also due to step down from the board.

Allan joined the Tesco board in the aftermath of the accountancy scandal in 2014, which saw the supermarket giant accused of inflating its profits by more than £250m. 

Since 2015, Allan and former chief executive Dave Lewis helped to stabilise Tesco by overseeing the sale of a number of its overseas businesses and rebuilding its market share in the UK. 

Allan has sat on the board of several blue-chip companies including Dixons Stores Group, 3i Group, Royal Mail and Worldpay.

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