Makro MD Juergen Schwarze will leave the company and be replaced by former Booker commercial director Bryan Drew, The Grocer can reveal.

The news comes on the day the Office of Fair Trading published the full text of its decision to refer Booker’s acquisition of Makro to the Competition Commission.

An internal letter to colleagues from Booker CEO Charles Wilson revealed that Booker remains confident of a positive outcome for the deal, but that during the CC enquiry, which is due to last six months, Booker would continue to “hold Makro separate”.

Schwarze will officially leave on 21 December, when Makro finance director Jens Koeppen will also leave the business. Koeppen will be replaced by current Makro finance controller Ves Bandev. Bandev has been at Makro for four years and Wilson said he “is widely respected within the business”.

Drew served as Booker commercial director between 2005 and 2010 and Wilson described him as being recognised as “being a great leader” in the UK wholesale trade. “His stewardship of Makro during the Competition Commission process will help strengthen Makro,” added Wilson.