Veteran Booker director Martin Swadling has left the wholesaler as part of what sources told Better Retailing is a ‘wider ongoing restructure’ at Booker.

The move ends Swadling’s nearly three decade-long contribution to the success of Booker’s symbol groups.

Until the restructure he held the role of customer director, but has also been director of Premier, Londis brand director and retail support director. Swadling worked his way up through the ranks after joining Londis in 1997 as a trading manager.

Atul Sodha, of Londis Harefield in Uxbridge, West London said: “Martin has been a massive inspiration for me, I’ve known him since he was in the Londis trading team and the impressive thing has always been how much he understands what it means to be an independent retailer. Because of the culture he helped to create at Booker, retailers’ experiences inform decision making in so many different teams within the business.

“I really hope he reappears somewhere within the independent convenience channel, anything else would be a massive loss for shop owners.”

One Premier retailer reacted: ‘He’s always been incredibly supportive of us. Our business is where it is today because of his help. He’s more than just a partner of ours, Martin is a good friend.”

Describing the wider restructure, a senior industry source claimed: “My understanding is that a number of folks have gone from Booker.”

When asked about Swadling’s departure and the wider changes, Booker refused to comment.

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