New FD for Ocado

Ocado said it had poached the financial director of the Fitness First Group as the online shopping firm strives to continue its recent successes.

The firm said Duncan Tatton-Brown would join the board as the new Chief Financial Officer from September.

Ocado's Chairman, Lord Grade, said he was chosen due to his public company experience in large and complex retail, service and consumer facing businesses.

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Before Fitness First, Tatton-Brown was head of finance at Kingfisher, B&Q and the Virgin Entertainment Group.

"Our objective is to deliver long-term returns to shareholders and Duncan's appointment as the Chief Financial Officer reflects the need for Ocado to operate with continued financial discipline as we grow," Grade said.

At the end of May the online grocer said it had seen year-on-year sales growth of around 13% for the 12 weeks ending 13 May as demand for online food shopping grew and it overcame constraints at its warehouse in Hatfield.

The group, which sells mostly Waitrose products, said operational performance at its Hatfield customer fulfilment centre just north of London was at record levels following operational difficulties last year.