Asda CEO Roger Burnley in surprise speedy exit

British supermarket group Asda has announced that its chief executive, Roger Burnley, has stepped down, having said in March he would not be departing until next year.

In February, Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity group TDR Capital completed their purchase of a majority holding in Asda from U.S. giant Walmart, in a deal giving it an enterprise value of £6.8 billion ($9.5 billion).

A month later they said Burnley would leave the group next year after it has transitioned fully to new ownership and once his long-term successor was in place.

However, Burnley has now left the business. "We have mutually agreed with Roger that now is the right time for him to step down from the business following a transition period under our ownership," the brothers and TDR said in a statement.

Asda said a process to recruit Burnley's replacement was "ongoing".

Burnley re-joined Asda in 2016 and had been CEO since 2018. Asda is Britain's third largest supermarket group after market leader Tesco and Sainsbury's and is a key player in fashion and homewares. Its George label was a supermarket fashion pioneer and retains a big market share.