Retail Week understands that McColl’s long-serving chief operating officer Dave Thomas will be retiring from the convenience store group, and the listed business will issue a note to shareholders confirming his departure this morning.

It is understood that Thomas will stay on with the business in some form of consultancy role until at least April or May, when he will step away.

Thomas’ departure comes after the convenience store group suffered a torrid year, which culminated in it issuing a profit warning for the 52-week period ending November 24, 2019 – with EBITDA expected to be £32m.