Sir Stuart Rose £1.5m richer in Ocado deal with Morrisons
Ocado chairman Sir Stuart Rose – the former chief executive of Marks & Spencer – has seen his wealth jump by £1.5million after the delivery group’s deal with Morrisons.
leapt 25 per cent on Friday after an agreement to help the supermarket set up an online grocery delivery service was announced.
Rose owns 1.2million shares in Ocado, including the 450,000 he gained as part of his appointment as chairman on March 11.
Shares had been edging higher in expectation of a deal and the jump means Rose has made more money in his first two months at Ocado than his annual salary at M&S.
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Under the 25-year, £170million deal, Morrisons has taken control of Ocado’s second distribution centre in Dordon, Warwickshire, and will use Ocado’s computer technology to run its online ordering and delivery service.
Groceries will be delivered in Morrisons-branded vans, but the deal has still ruffled feathers at Waitrose, which until now has been Ocado’s exclusive grocery partner.
Waitrose has lawyers scanning the Morrisons deal to work out whether the contract breaches its terms. Ocado said it was confident it did not. Meanwhile, Morrisons has sent documents to a Government inquiry suggesting that a review of the business-rates system is needed urgently because it is ‘damaging confidence’.
The Department for Business Select Committee will begin hearing evidence into its review of the state of the retail sector in Parliament in two days. Morrisons has demanded a freeze in rates and called for an urgent revision of the way rate rises are calculated.
