Tesco spirits executive suspended

British supermarket chain Tesco has suspended its beer, wine and spirits director, along with two other executives, as part of an inquiry into a £250 million profit black hole.

Dan Jago, director for beer, wine and spirits at Tesco, has reportedly been suspended

Although the chain has declined to name the executives under investigation, a source has named long-serving BWS director Dan Jago as one of those suspended.

According to The Telegraph, retail consultant Steve Dresser has named the two other executives as William Linnane of impulse purchasing, and Sean McCurley of convenience.

The chain has been investigating the source of the profit overestimation since last month, and expects to reveal its findings in its interim results on 23 October.

The suspensions bring the total number of Tesco executives blamed for the shortfall to eight.

In a statement released today, Tesco 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.”

Deloitte and the law firm Freshfields are investigating how the extra £250 million came to be included in the company’s estimated profits.

News of the shortfall immediately saw Tesco plc stocks briefly plummet by 11.3% to an 11-year low of 203.5p.