CVC strengthens retail team

After having worked on several projects in an informal capacity, Simon Laffin, previously a director of Safeway, has joined CVC Capital Partners as European retail adviser.

In his role as group finance and property director at Safeway, Laffin played a leading part in handling the UK retailer’s response to the various bids that emerged over the past couple of years. This capped a 14-year career with Safeway during which he was involved in corporate strategy, improving efficiency and managing the £3bn property portfolio. Prior to this, Laffin trained as an accountant at BP before moving to Rank Xerox.

CVC has invested heavily in European retail, with recent deals including Debenhams and Halfords in the UK, Supermercados El Arbol in Spain and Retail Network Company in the Netherlands.