Occa-Home bags ex-Tesco chief in £1.5m fundraising

FORMER Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy has joined the board of Glasgow-based online furnishings retailer Occa-Home as part of the firm’s £1.5 million fundraising exercise.

Sir Terry Leahy led the UK's No 1 supermarket Tesco for 14 years. Picture: AP

The retail veteran, who ran the UK’s largest supermarket for 14 years before retiring in March 2011, will act as an adviser to the company, which has also added Jill Little, a former strategy director at department store group John Lewis, to its board.

Leahy has contributed an undisclosed amount to the cash injection, which also involved fund manager Artemis and a consortium of private equity houses, as well as existing shareholders Bill Dobbie – the chief executive of dating website operator Cupid – and William Currie Group, which backed online fashion store Asos.

A previous funding round saw Bob Willett, the former chief executive of US retail giant Best Buy’s European operations, join as chairman.

Kate Mooney, Occa-Home’s founder and chief executive, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with retail stalwarts including Sir Terry, Jill and Bob as we go for significant growth over the next three years.”