Now Radice faces axe at M&S

Vittorio Radice, the flamboyant former boss of Selfridges, looks likely to be the next casualty in the fierce battle for control of Marks & Spencer.

The Italian was lured to M&S with a £1.2 million "golden hello" and now runs its ailing clothing operation.

But the dramatic sacking last night of chief executive Roger Holmes, Radice's chief supporter, leaves the Italian looking extremely vulnerable, analysts said.

New chief executive Stuart Rose, former head of the Top Shop to Burton group Arcadia, has 30 years experience in retail and is known as an uncompromising "hands-on" manager.

Mr Radice's new venture, the costly homewares shop Lifestore, has not been a success. "Rose will want to be running all that himself, I can't see Radice lasting long," said one retail analyst.

The City is now preparing for what looks set to be one of the fiercest takeover battles in years. M&S's hopes of fighting off the approach from billionaire Philip Green looked slim before Mr Rose's appointment.