The earlier than expected announcement of Sir Terence Leahy’s retirement and replacement at the helm of Tesco came as a bit of a surprise but shows clear thinking behind the succession planning.  His replacement, Philip Clarke, is 50, which means he has a good tenure in front of him providing stability at the top. He has also been on the Board since 1998.  The fact that he was head of their international operations points to the long-term strategic direction of Tesco, which is still thought of by many as a UK retailer, rather than in its position as the world’s third largest retailer.

Another interesting development is a new role of CEO for Asia again showing the importance of this part of the world in Tesco’s strategy.  The post is filled by David Potts who has done a fantastic job overseeing the logistics operations in the UK.
 
This move also eases the pressure on the fledgling US Fresh & Easy operation (whose CEO Tim Mason has also been appointed Deputy CEO with responsibility for the global Tesco brand) and will potentially make it easier to withdraw from the US, if it does not prove successful.

Tesco remains a core holding in both my UK Equity Fund and Phil’s UK Opportunities Fund.

Is Dolphin Capital at a turning point?

Dolphin’s trading update on 8 June provided much welcome news for investors after a long wait. They announced that they had received final planning permits for two golf courses at their Venus Rock resort in Cyprus, probably Europe’s largest integrated seafront development.  This also means construction can now start on some 267,000sq m of residential space comprising 711 single units and six apartment buildings taking the resort’s total space to over 450,000 sq m.

Importantly, the funding for these developments is fully in place.

They also announced strong sales since their last trading update on 11 March 2010 including the first plots at their signature development in the Porto Heli Collection in Greece.

Again this stock is held by both the UK Equity and UK Opportunities Funds.