Kankiwala told employees that “the way the partnership did business would have to change to make it more efficient and affordable, and that action would have to come at pace”, according to an update in The Gazette, the retailer’s weekly internal magazine, first seen by the Financial Times.

His comments come soon after JLP had to fend off reports that it was exploring partial demutualisation in a bid to raise between £1bn and £2bn of new investment as it looks to deal with debts and competition from online retailers.