Retail group Spar announced on Friday that former CEO Graham O'Conner was stepping down as chairperson so that it can better deal with all claims being made against it, reports Fin24.

O'Conner will remain on the board.

The company announced that O'Conner stepped aside ‘to allow the board to focus on the current allegations facing the company’.

The JSE-listed retailer has been hit with a wave of negative news of late, including that it is facing off with one of its store owners in Johannesburg amid allegations it inflated the price of a store.

In another blow, fraud charges were filed against senior executives of Spar, including O'Conner, amid allegations that the grocer falsely claimed in 2019 it was owed money in order to gain control over certain supermarkets.

In addition, Business Day reported that two 'fictitious' loans have been uncovered in a report compiled on behalf of Spar's board, which was looking into allegations of unfair treatment and racism.

The governance of the company is also under scrutiny after O’Connor became Spar chairperson in March 2021, a month after retiring as CEO, which is at odds with the King Code's recommendation of at least a three-year break.

O’Connor will continue as a non-executive director, while lead independent director Andrew Waller will serve as interim chair until a permanent replacement is found.

On Friday, Spar said the recent allegations pointing to instances of fictitious and fraudulent loans on its books do not mean that this is representative of ‘dodgy’ accounting, adding while recent negative publicity has been driven by a small minority of aggrieved retailers, it is taking all allegations seriously.

The group said it was seeking legal opinion. 

The firm also ‘strongly’ denies allegations of discrimination based on race or store location.

Full report on the Fin24 site