Tesco exec fired over accounting crisis takes role with 'chicken king'

Tesco exec fired over accounting crisis takes role with ‘chicken king’

May 11, 2022

A member of the “Tesco eight” sacked over the accounting crisis which engulfed Britain’s biggest food retailer in 2014 has re-emerged at the private poultry empire owned by Ranjit Boparan.

Sky News has learnt that Kevin Grace, who was Tesco’s commercial director until his dismissal, has joined Boparan Private Office as managing director of manufacturing operations across brands such as Bernard Matthews, the prominent turkey producer.

City sources said he joined the company, which is controlled by Mr Boparan, in the last few days.

His arrival comes as industry executives battle the effects of soaring inflation, with numerous warnings in recent weeks about the impact on prices for consumers.

Mr Grace was among a group of Tesco executives who lost their jobs when the company reported a huge black hole in its finances, sparking a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) inquiry.

Although Tesco paid £129m to settle with the SFO in 2017, two of the supermarket’s former bosses who were charged by the agency were acquitted the following year.

Mr Grace was not among the executives pursued by the SFO.

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In 2017, he sued the retailer for wrongful dismissal, claiming he was owed a reported £600,000.

Tesco is among the customers supplied by Boparan-owned brands such as Bernard Matthews and Banham Poultry.

A spokesman for 2 Sisters Food Group, which encompasses the bulk of Mr Boparan’s business interests, declined to comment.

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