Morrisons, the fourth largest supermarket in the UK, has announced it is to part company with its CEO Dalton Philips after recording a slump in sales over the recent Christmas period. Phillips, who is from Wicklow where his father worked as an egg farmer, was appointed chief executive at Morrisons in 2010.

Philips, 46, will stand down in March. Morrisons’ like-for-like sales over Christmas were down 3.1%. The company also announced the proposed closure of 10 loss making stores in 2015.