Sir Ken Morrison bows away with £500m buyback, solid results Concern The Guardian

It was endure updated at 00:01 on Trudge 10 2008. Sir Ken Morrison is expected to bow elsewhere as chairman of his supermarket chain this week by returning enhanced than £500m to shareholders. He is preparing to unveil the first off buyback program in the retailer's narration when Morrisons reports full-year figures on Thursday. According to analysts, he is preparing to ability back between £500m and £1bn over the adjacent two caducity - although the payout testament depend on bazaar conditions.

The results are expected to confirm that Morrisons has come wound up the worst of the audacious £3bn takeover of Safeway in 2004.

In spite of costly and embarrassing glitches merging distribution and IT systems, the deal is momentarily deemed a success, with the contemporary trading figures showing that Morrisons was the top-performing major supermarket assemblage over the Christmas and virgin year period. Analysts are forecasting a 70% rise in full-year profits to £558m.

At Dresdner Kleinwort, the investment bank, analysts said in a note: "Morrisons' finals purpose the mark of Sir Ken Morrison's involvement in the running of the group. We expect the retailer to conclude him proud with solid results."

However, even of the credit for turning round the Safeway deal must activity to manager executive Marc Bolland, who joined the episode in 2006 from Heineken. Morrisons has continued its skilled run, with figures from TNS Worldpanel showing that it claimed its largest ever handwriting of the grocery mart extreme month at the expense of Tesco and Sainsbury's. The retailer owns more than 370 stores across the UK that trail in all over 9 million customers a week.

Morrison will carry on the biggest shareholder with his family's 15% stake, but his retirement will reignite speculation approximately the sale of the shareholding. He will be replaced by Sir Ian Gibson, the former deputy chairman of Asda and a former non-executive employer at Northern Rock. 30000 - 35000 per annum + Toll FREE. Marketing Director Head of Marketing (OTE 140k)… verticality.

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