Nisa’s board of directors is to be replaced by a ‘monitoring group’ following the appointment of former Tesco boss Ken Towle as its chief executive.

The changes come as Co-op’s £143m takeover of the symbol group was given final clearance on 4 May. A senior industry source told RN the monitoring group will consist of 10 members who will provide advice and feedback on the running of Nisa stores to the Co-op leadership team.

“The monitoring group will consist of 10 members, four of whom will be selected by the Co-op.

“The remaining members will be Nisa retailers, voted in by other retailers to each represent six individual regions in the UK. Each member will be in an advisory role.

“I know the Co-op is looking to have the group in place by the end of July,” the source said.

Meanwhile, Mr Towle’s replacement of Arnu Misra as Nisa chief executive was announced on 8 May. Mr Towle was employed at Tesco between 2002 and 2015, with notable roles being China chief executive, UK operations director and group executive committee director.