8. Morrisons
Morrisons’ boss David Potts “has moved mountains” in the year he has served as ceo of the Bradford based retailer, said City analyst Shore Capital in February.
Analysts Clive Black and Darren Shirley praised Potts’s wholesale changes to the group executive team, the new culture he has injected into the business, leading to the construction of a platform to build a £16bn revenue retail business.
“The journey has begun: David Potts has moved mountains in just one year to us,” they said. And that journey, backed by the new board, executive and non-executive directors, had started in the right direction.
Despite disappointing shareholders in recent years, Morrisons was likely to become “progressively shareholder friendly”, said Black and Shirley. The retailer’s management firmly understands that disappointment and the need for “sustainable improvement”.
The retailer – which was also the UK’s second largest producer of fresh food – had “strong foundations”, owning more than 80% of its store base and having a strong position from a pension responsibility perspective.