Andy Hornby resigns as boss of Alliance Boots

Mr Hornby said he needed to take a break after an intense few years

Andy Hornby, the man in charge of HBOS bank when it was rescued by Lloyds Banking Group, has resigned as chief executive of Alliance Boots.

After what Mr Hornby called "an intense five years" as boss of first HBOS and then Boots, he said he had decided to take "a few months' break".

Boots said it would begin its search for a successor "in due course".

The chairman of the group, Stefano Pessina, praised Mr Hornby's "wealth of retail and marketing experience".

Growing revenue

"I have thoroughly enjoyed the last couple of years at Alliance Boots, during which time the company has performed very well," said My Hornby, who had been in the job less than two years.

"I am confident that Alliance Boots will continue to go from strength to strength under the leadership of Stefano Pessina and the executive team."

In the first half of the current financial year, Boots posted a 6% rise in revenues to £8.9bn.

Alliance Boots was bought by private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for £11bn in 2007. Boots and Alliance Unichem had merged a year earlier.

The Nottingham-based firm has more than 3,000 stores worldwide and employs over 115,000 people, including about 70,000 in the UK.