Dan Jago to return to Tesco

Dan Jago is to return to Tesco in a new role following his suspension as its head of BWS amid a financial probe into a £263m “black hole” in the supermarket’s finances.

Dan Jago

Jago was suspended in October, along with eight other executives, just four weeks after he was handed the additional responsibility of beer and spirits.

However it was confirmed today that Jago was to be reinstated at the supermarket as of 9 March in the new role of category director, group wine.

A spokesperson for Tesco confirmed that Gavin Warburton has been appointed to the role of UK category director for beer, wine and spirits, which he covered during Jago’s suspension.

A statement said: “We can confirm Dan Jago will be returning to the business. We asked Dan to step aside to facilitate our recent investigation into commercial income recognition. We have now concluded the investigation and as a result, Dan will be returning to work in March. We’d like to thank Dan for his professionalism and co-operation throughout this process.”

The Serious Fraud Office had been conducting and investigation into Tesco amid claims the supermarket produced purposefully misleading financial reports, which advanced the company’s credits and held off expenses, leading to a £263 million “black hole” in its accounts.

The SFO was looking for evidence of collusion between the company’s accountancy departments and management divisions of the company, with Dan Jago one of eight executives to be suspended as the investigation commenced. An investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority and police was also taking place.

The findings of the investigation are yet to be made public.

Tesco is yet to announce a replacement for Laura Jewell MW, former senior wine product development manager, who left the company  who left Tesco in November to take on the role of UK head of Wine Australia.