Tesco wine boss Dan Jago is one of three senior executives reportedly asked to step aside today as the retail giant continued a probe into a £250m profit overstatement, according to media reports.
Tesco declined to name the individuals concerned but the Daily Telegraph yesterday cited retail consultant Steve Dresser in naming them as Dan Jago, global head of wine, beer and spirits; William Linnane, director of impulse; and Sean McCurley, director of convenience.
A Tesco spokesperson said: ‘We have asked three employees to step aside to facilitate the investigation into the potential overstatement of profits in UK food for the first half of the year.
‘We will provide an update on the investigation with our interim results on 23 October.
When contacted, Tesco told Decanter.com that it would ‘neither confirm nor deny’ that Jago was one of the three employees concerned.
Five senior directors, including UK managing director Chris Bush, have already been asked to step aside following the discovery that Tesco potentially overstated its profit for the first half of the fiscal year by £250m.
Accountant Deloitte and legal firm Freshfields are investigating the accounting irregularities, including claims that supplier payments due to be booked at the end of the financial year were pushed into the first half to inflate the figures.
Ex-Royal Navy man Jago has been with Tesco since 2006, taking on the role of UK & group wine director in December 2012 – and was only promoted to take on responsibility for beer and spirits last month.
Prior to joining Tesco, he was joint managing director at wine supplier Bibendum.
Speaking late last year, Jago said of his Tesco role: ‘I care passionately about the longevity, credibility and profitability of this business and about the people in it.’
Jago could not be contacted for comment today; He was said to be out of the office via email, while his Twitter and Linked In accounts appear to have been deleted.
Written by Richard Woodard
