Debenhams gets tobacco boss Nigel Northbridge as chairman

Debenhams today appointed tobacco industry veteran Nigel Northridge as chairman, succeeding John Lovering who will retire from the board in April.

Mr Northridge, 53, is best known for his three decades at tobacco firm Gallaher, where he presided over its sale to Japan Tobacco for £9.4 billion.

He is chairman of gambling group Paddy Power, a non-executive director at travel firm Thomas Cook and car dealer Inchcape, and an independent director at temporary power provider Aggreko. He apparently plans to keep all of these jobs.

The department store group has been hunting for a replacement for Mr Lovering — who was yesterday appointed the new chairman of Mitchells & Butlers after a boardroom coup — since he announced his departure in October.

Mr Lovering left after six years in the job, which included presiding over Debenhams' return to the stock market through a flotation in 2006 by its private equity owners.

Jean Roche, retail analyst at Panmure Gordon, used to cover Gallaher when Mr Northridge was in charge. Today she said she was impressed with his work there: "As a result, I'm very comfortable with the appointment for Debenhams — it's not my top stock in the retail sector but I'm looking at Northridge's arrival in a positive light."

Debenhams refused to comment on Mr Northridge's pay. The group, which operates 144 department stores in the UK and Ireland, had already given him a role on its board, appointing him a non-executive director at the start of this year. Shares in Debenhams today lost 1.2p to 66.5p.

Mr Northridge said: "Debenhams has performed well during the recession, growing profits and market share and restructuring its balance sheet. It has developed its own unique model in a very competitive marketplace."