Investors in B&M European Value Retail will be interested to learn if there is any update on a successor to chief executive Simon Arora when the company announces its full-year results tomorrow.

The major retailer said last month that Mr Arora plans to retire in April 2023 after 17 years leading the business.

A succession process, led by chairman Peter Bamford, is considering both internal and external candidates.

B&M was a regional chain of only 21 stores when it was acquired by Simon and Bobby Arora in December 2004.

It has seen massive expansion since then and now has 38,000 staff at 1,100 outlets across the UK and France.

The firm has a large presence north of the border, with operations including two shops in the Aberdeen area.

Trading director Bobby Arora intends to remain with the business in his current role.

Sophie Lund-Yates, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that the stock market hadn't reacted kindly to news that B&M's CEO was stepping down.

She added: "While a changing of the guard can cause markets to wobble at the best of times, some of the negative sentiment stems from nervousness around B&M's path from here.

"One of the biggest things to watch on Tuesday will be the outlook statement. B&M's core customers are likely among the worst affected by inflation.

"The group's lower prices are also not as competitive as they once were, according to analysts. That means it's less likely to capture more-affluent customers looking for value options, too.

"The market is expecting operating profits of around £578million, which would be a 5.8% fall on last year. This doesn't seem an unreasonable expectation, and we think the biggest question from investors will be what happens next.

Meanwhile, in other retail news, the BBC reports that fast-fashion firm Missguided is on the brink of collapse after being issued with a winding-up petition by creditors.

It is understood the business, which has about 330 staff, could call in administrators as early as today.

Missguided was rescued last autumn by the finance firm Alteri Investors.

It has suffered from supply-chain problems, rising freight costs and increasing competition from rivals like Boohoo and Chinese firm Shein.

In recent weeks, Alteri has been trying to secure a sale.

Brent crude futures are now at their highest mark since March and earlier today were up 0.51% at $120.04 a barrel.

FTSE 100

The UK's top share index, the FTSE 100, was up 28 points at 7,614 shortly after opening this morning, following Friday's 20-point gain.

No FTSE 350 companies are reporting today.

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