Simon Cairns has announced that he will leave the head of drinks role at the Co-op.

In a post on LinkedIn, Cairns, who has spent ten years with the retailer, said it is time to “say my farewells to the Co-op and search for new adventures”.

He included several career highlights, such as leading his team to “win the International Wine Challenge award for the Convenience Retailer of the Year an unprecedented 8 consecutive times, as well as achieving multiple national and international awards for our range and products”.

“I feel this has cemented the Co-op’s reputation as the UK’s leading drinks retailer,” he went on the write.

Cairns also championed the Co-op’s commitment to initiatives such as Fairtrade, The One Foundation and the Brewgooder Foundation.

“Being an accountable lead on the roll out of the Scottish deposit return scheme has allowed me to experience first-hand the cross functional desire across the business to do the right thing for a sustainable future,” he added.

Cairns ended his post by thanking his colleagues for their support and flagging up a career highlight when the Co-op won the 2018 Drinks Retailing Award for Buying Team of the Year.