Ousted Superdry boss Euan Sutherland sweeps back to take over at Saga

The boss who was ejected from fashion retailer Superdry and stormed out of the Co-op staged a shock return to the City on Wednesday to run beleaguered over-50s insurer Saga.

Euan Sutherland, who also led B&Q, will take the reins of the poorly performing insurer in January, replacing Lance Batchelor who stepped down after its shares crashed.

Saga chairman Patrick O’Sullivan said Sutherland’s “substantial experience” in the consumer world would help fix the iconic brand, with the shares in the doldrums due to a shock profit warning this year.

Sutherland’s stunning return may raise eyebrows given his adversarial track record at his past two jobs, which ended in acrimony.

He stormed out of the Co-operative after just 10 months in 2014 following a bust-up over governance, branding the mutual “ungovernable” after he took issue with a leak about his multi-million pay deal.

He ran Superdry for five years but was ousted after a battle with founder Julian Dunkerton, who narrowly won a shareholder vote to kick out the board in April. Its shares were down 50% during Sutherland’s tenure.

The Saga pay packet for Sutherland, who has earned millions over the years, has not been disclosed but sources said it would be similar to Batchelor’s. He earned £1.2 million last year and hit a high of £5.3 million in 2015.

One of Sutherland’s first tasks will be facing down another possible adversary in the form of activist investor Elliott.

The aggressive shareholder took a 5% stake in July, prompting speculation it may deploy a similar strategy to Whitbread and call for a break-up.

Saga sells holiday cruises as well as motor and home insurance, two distinct offerings some say should be separated.