Vansteenkiste, whose move aside had already been signalled, will remain as a consultant to Debenhams advising chair Mark Gifford on its future strategy.

He joined Debenhams just under a year ago, bringing turnaround experience from restructuring specialist Alvarez & Marsal.

Gifford will continue to steer Debenhams, which collapsed into administration last month for the second time in a year as the coronavirus outbreak forced the closure of all its stores.