Pets at Home reverses decision to hire Graeme Jenkins as new finance boss

Jenkins had been due to succeed Pets at Home’s new boss, Ian Kellett, as chief financial officer earlier this month, but the retailer said the decision for him not to join had been made “by mutual agreement”.

It comes days after his appointment was postponed when Wesfarmers launched an investigation into Target, where Jenkins served as chief financial officer since 2013.

Wesfarmers, which acquired Homebase earlier this year, ordered an investigation into supplier rebate arrangements when incoming chief executive Guy Russo became aware of issues with the accounting policy.

The Australian conglomerate revealed the findings of the accounting probe today, concluding that Target’s earnings were inflated by A$21m (£11.2m) in the final six months of 2015. 

Wesfarmers described the actions of staff involved in the supplier rebate scheme at Target as “mind-blowingly stupid”.

The retail group said it was now taking “appropriate action” against 10 Target staff.

Pets at Home said last week that Jenkins’ appointment would be postponed until the investigation had been concluded or any further information had come to light.

Following the results of the investigation, a Pets at Home spokesman said: “By mutual agreement, Graeme Jenkins will not be joining the group as chief financial officer.”

The board has now restarted its search for a permanent chief financial officer. Mark Adams will act as interim financial officer during the intervening period, it said.

Adams, who previously served as finance boss at Hastings Insurance Group and easyJet, has acted as an interim chief finance officer to Cognita Schools since February 2014.

Pets at Home said: “He has finance leadership experience from a number of business to consumer and publicly listed companies.”