Steinhoff CFO steps down from post to focus on liquidity

Ben la Grange on Thursday stepped down as chief financial officer and as a management board member of Steinhoff "to focus on the preservation and procurement of liquidity in the group", the South African retailer said.

Philip Dieperink will become acting CFO, the furniture retail group said, adding that it also planned to hire a debt restructuring expert as chief restructuring officer, with a process to identify potential candidates already underway.

Fighting for survival after flagging accounting irregularities last month, Steinhoff earlier this week said it would have to restate its 2015 accounts and maybe earlier figures, having already warned on its 2016 numbers.