The department store chain said the changes would bring the Fenwick family “closer to the running of the business [and] slim down the board”.

Fenwick insisted the move was “the right decision now and for the longer term”.

Pennycook, who became the first Fenwick chair from outside the family when he took the role in February 2017, has been replaced on an interim basis by non-executive director Steve Barber.

Feather, who Retail Week revealed as the first person from outside the family to be named chief executive in January 2018, will be succeeded by John Edgar.