Tuesday 13th January, 2015

Former Tesco's Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Higginson has taken the Chairmanship early at rival supermarket Morissons after they posted the worst Christmas trading sales of all the major supermarkets.

CEO Dalton Phillips has been sacked on the back of the unsatisfactory results. Higginson was appointed back in July and was due to start later on in 2015, but will now take on the role later in the month. Morissons, which was slow to recognise the change in consumer habits with greater online shopping, has also found itself caught in a confused middle ground between discount retailers Lidl and Aldi, and more premium supermarkets at the higher end.

Higginson, who said he was "Delighted to be joining the Board of Morissons", added that they  "Need to return the business to growth [and] the Board believe this is best done under new leadership."

Morisson shares have jumped 5.6% following the news.