RETAILER CLERYS has parted company with its chief executive PJ Timmins.

It is understood that Mr Timmins left the business yesterday although his LinkedIn page continued to show his title as chief executive officer at OCS Operations Ltd, the entity that now controls Clerys.

His departure comes just over six weeks after Boston-based Gordon Brothers acquired the Irish retailer.

Gordon Brothers is expected to appoint a new managing director shortly, possibly from within the business.

Finance director John Rowe remains with the company.

It is understood that the management team at Gordon Brothers will run Clerys as an interim measure.

Mr Timmins (50) joined Clerys in 1991 and became its chief executive in 2002.

He had previously held finance roles in McInerney Properties and Pierse Contracting and spent four years as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

He led its strategy to purchase property around Clerys department store on O’Connell Street in recent years.

This loaded significant debt on to the business that it was unable to repay after the economy crashed in 2008. The properties were never developed.

Mr Timmins also oversaw the expansion of the Clerys brand into out-of-town retail parks in Blanchardstown and Leopardstown in Dublin and Naas in Kildare. These all closed recently.

In September, Gordon Brothers acquired Clery Co (1941) plc through a subsidiary called OCS Investment Holdings.

No financial details were released but Gordon Brothers is believed to have paid about €15 million to acquire the retailer’s €26 million debts from Bank of Ireland.

The retailer had been owned for 71 years by the family of Kerryman Denis Guiney.