Tesco's Leahy cashes in before checking out

Tesco's departing chief executive Sir Terry Leahy has pocketed more than £3.3m from a sale of shares in the UK's number one supermarket.

He sold 764,576 shares at 432.3p a go. Tesco did not disclose how many shares he still has, if any.

Sir Terry's retirement from the company was announced in June. He is stepping down in March after 14 years as chief executive. He will be replaced by Phil Clarke, currently responsible for international operations.

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'When I became CEO I had a plan to build Tesco around its customers, to make it number one in the UK and to find new long term growth in non-food, in services and in international expansion,' he said, as the company announced his departure.

'It has taken 14 years but that strategy has become a firm reality now and so I feel my work is almost complete,' he added.

Tesco overtook Sainsbury's as the UK's top supermarket in 1995. Earlier this month it posted a 12% rise in first half profits despite sluggish underlying sales in the UK.