US Edition
John Lewis’s property chief has unexpectedly quit in a blow to chairman Dame Sharon White’s plan to push into housing.
Chris Harris, the company’s property director of five years and a pivotal figure in the move into house building, has resigned and will depart the company in November.
He is credited with having struck a £500m deal with fund manager Abrdn last year to build 1,000 “build to rent” homes in Reading, Bromley and West Ealing.
The deal is part of Dame Sharon’s efforts to diversify John Lewis beyond retail and end several years of losses.
John Lewis wants to build 10,000 rental homes by 2030 and hopes 40pc of profits will come from activities beyond retail by then.
The partnership, which also owns Waitrose, aims to build housing above its supermarkets in Bromley and West Ealing as part of the push, with planning applications expected to be submitted shortly.
Mr Harris has been overseeing these efforts and his departure at such a pivotal time is a setback.
He becomes the third senior executive to depart this year. Pippa Wicks stepped down as head of department stores with immediate effect in February after less than three years in the role. Chief operating officer Andrew Murphy is also leaving this summer.
The string of departures deepens the perception that Dame Sharon is struggling for direction. Her efforts to turnaround performance since taking charge in 2020 have so far failed to bear fruit, with the group losing £230m last year.
Dame Sharon is also facing growing discontent among staff, after overseeing job and bonus cuts and considering selling a stake in the partnership to private investors for the first time in Johns Lewis’ history.
The chairman recently lost a vote of confidence in her strategy among the partnership council, which represents staff, though they backed her to continue in her role.
The Sunday Times, which first reported Mr Harris’ departure, said he may set up his own investment company and had received approaches from prospective private equity backers.
He said: “After five wonderful years I’ve decided that the time is right for me to explore new opportunities outside of the Partnership.”
Berangere Michel, executive director of finance at John Lewis, said: “[Harris] leaves us with our very best wishes for the future.”