Debenhams chief executive Sergio Bucher steps down after lenders take control
Debenhams chief executive Sergio Bucher has stepped down, nine days after the embattled department store's lenders took control.
The group’s non-executive chairman Terry Duddy has been appointed interim executive chairman until a permanent replacement is found, Reuters reported.
Read more: Mike Ashley among Debenhams shareholders wiped out
Duddy will oversee a major store closure programme, which is expected to be revealed next week, that could put thousands of jobs at risk.
Bucher, a former Amazon executive who joined Debenhams in October 2016, said that with new financing facilities in place it was time to move on.
Read more: Debenhams boss prepares to step down
His resignation follows the appointment of administrators on 9 April, following a sharp slowdown in sales, high rents and ballooning debt.
Administrators immediately sold the group to a newly incorporated company controlled by its lenders in a pre-packaged administration, wiping out shareholders’ stakes, including the 30 per cent owned by Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley.