M&S shock as Morrisons chief lands the boss’s job

Marc Bolland, a Dutchman and former boss of lager maker Heineken, is credited with transforming Morrisons from a sleepy also-ran in the grocery sector into a serious competitor to the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury.

He will succeed Sir Stuart Rose at the helm of the most influential retailer in Britain, a company often regarded as the soul of Middle Britain, which accounts for 10% of all clothing sales in the country.

In making the appointment, Marks bypasses three internal candidates for the role: finance director John Dyson, clothing boss Kate Bostock and director of food John Dixon.

Analysts say the M&S board, despite making a show of giving all three a chance to show their worth, decided that none was suitable.

City investors say Dyson was too much of a pure numbers man, Bostock lacked wide enough retail experience and that Dixon, a rising star, was simply too young.

Bolland had been mentioned as a possible successor several times but always insisted he was not interested, saying: "I am very happy at Morrisons."

Rose will stay on as part-time chairman once Bolland takes over in the New Year. He will leave M&S "by July 2011", in reality probably well before then.

The details of Bolland's pay are yet to be confirmed, but he can expect a package that makes him one of the best-paid chief executives in the UK.

He is likely to be strongly incentivised to improve the M&S share price.

As the news broke M&S stock lifted sharply. By early afternoon it was up xxp to xxp.

Bolland only arrived at Morrisons in September 2006, quickly revamping its offering by focusing on fresh food. He said: "M&S is one of the world's great brands and I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to lead the company forward at this exciting stage."

He will start just as VAT, cut to aid the road out of recession, goes back up, potentially hurting sales.

Rose said: "I am delighted that Marc is to be M&S's next chief executive. He brings a wealth of consumer marketing experience and had made a great success of his time at Morrisons."

News of Bolland's departure met with huge disappointment from Morrisons' shareholders. He had been originally appointed after a long-running succession crisis in which founder Sir Ken Morrison was seen as meddling too much in the process. He has been hailed as a hero at the group, which was struggling with its bungled takeover of Safeway in 2004 when he arrived.

Shares in the supermarkets chain tumbled 12.7p to 282.8p, more than 4%, amid concerns about another lengthy search.