Nisa chief exec Neil Turton to leave company after 23 years

Turton has spent 23 years at Nisa and is leaving to take up a senior position at a business outside of the retail sector with his new position to be announced on Friday.

A Nisa spokesman said the recruitment process to replace Turton is yet to begin, but said chairman Christopher Baker had some people he was considering and added Turton will “play a key role” in finding a successor.

Baker said: “It is testament to the success of Nisa in serving the needs of thousands of members and millions of customers that our top talent is the target of other companies.

“Neil Turton is one of the longest serving chief executives in grocery retail. He has led Nisa through some seismic changes and the board is hugely grateful for his hard work over 23 years in the business.

“The board has put in place a robust transition strategy and will immediately commence the search for an experienced retailer that will be able to take Nisa to the next stage in its development. Neil will manage the succession strategy and continue to drive our retail focus and consumer centric propositions with the existing management team.”

News of Turton and Jones’ departure comes as the retailer relaunches over 1,300 lines of its own label Heritage range, launches new store formats and re-engineers it distribution service.

Turton said: “After 23 years with Nisa, I’m leaving a business that has just enjoyed an excellent trading year with record volumes and highest ever sales.

“The company, now more than ever, is retail focussed and consumer centric. I felt it was time for a new challenge and would like to thank all the hard working staff at Nisa for their contribution over the years.”

The company’s growth programme will be delivered to members by Turton at its annual conference in Vienna in October, where Justin King is the key-note speaker.

Nisa recently made a payment of over £2.2m to its members in the form of surplus distribution and dividend payments, representing a payout of £14 per share and a return of over 7% on each share owned by members, who can own up to 250 each.

The payments were on top of the £31m paid out to members in the form of rebates in the last year.