Former Morrisons’ head of convenience Gordon Mowat has been named as the retailer’s new property and strategy director and will also join the management board.

Mowat will now be responsible for Morrisons’ distribution centres and food production facilities, as well as its stores, and he will also lead the ongoing business strategy development.

His remit includes continuing to grow the convenience business and optimising cashflow from property assets.

“Gordon and his team have built a convenience business from scratch. He is a proven business operator and knows the property world well,” said Morrisons chief executive, Dalton Philips. “He will be focused on continuing to expand our convenience business; filling in the gaps in our supermarket footprint and optimising the cashflow from our property assets.”

As former managing director of convenience at the retailer, Mowat has opened 130 Morrisons M Local stores over the past two years, mainly in the south east and north west, and overseen the development of infrastructure needed to grow the convenience side of the business.

Last year Morrisons announced it would reduce spending on new supermarkets but continue to expand its convenience business by up to 100 stores a year.

It also said it would release £1 billion from property disposals in the three years to 2016.

Mowat joined Morrisons in 2011 from management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company where he was a partner and head of European consumer goods and retail.

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