The supermarket chain WM Morrisons has announced it has appointed Andrew Higginson as its next chairman.

Mr Higginson, who left his role as finance director for Tesco in 2012, will be stepping down as chairman at Poundland and will replace Sir Ian Gibson, who said last month that he would step down due to retirement in 2015.

Sir Ian said: "Andy Higginson has a tremendous reputation and a distinguished career at the forefront of retailing in the UK and I am sure he will be a huge asset to Morrisons.

"I am very pleased to welcome him to the board as deputy chairman and look forward to working with him to ensure a smooth transition to the chairman role."

Mr Higginson said: "I am delighted to be joining the board of Morrisons. Whilst there are undoubted challenges in the industry at the moment, this is a fine business and I am looking forward to working with the great team at Morrisons who work hard every day to serve customers."