A BOWDON man has been appointed to help shore up the fortunes of troubled supermarket Tesco.

Matt Davies, 43, who has been the chief executive at Halfords Group, since October, 2012, will become boss of the UK and Ireland operation for the major High Street retailer from June.

Mr Davies said: "My decision to leave has been very difficult. I have really enjoyed my time at Halfords, working with a great team of people across the business, helping create and deliver a clear service-focused strategy."

Halfords chairman Dennis Millard said: "We would like to thank Matt for his outstanding contribution to the business."

Mr. Davies has had an illustrious career and meteoric rise to date, having served as the chief executive of Handforth based firm Pets at Home from 2004 to April 2012, where he built the business from a group of 140 stores into a speciality retailer with over 300 stores.

In doing so, he employed an effective and successful business model based on promoting a strong culture of work ethic and enjoyment with a focus on colleague development, combined with a determination to provide exceptional customer service.

He joined Pets At Home, as finance director in 2001. It is said of Mr Davies that he has developed the business significantly, organically through new store openings, through services and by e-commerce.

Prior to working at Pets at Home, he served as a finance director of a distribution business within Caudwell Communications, before which he worked in mergers and acquisitions.

He also worked at NatWest Markets and NM Rothschild as a corporate finance advisor.

He started his career at Arthur Anderson where he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1995.

He has been a non-executive director at Dunelm Group plc since February 2012. He has been a director of Halfords Group plc since October 4, 2012.

One of Mr Davies's first tasks will be to close 43 unprofitable Tesco Express stores and move the firm's HQ from Cheshunt to Welwyn Garden City in 2016.