Pepco Group appoints Tesco veteran to run PEPCO retail brand

LONDON (Reuters) - Pepco Group, a European discount retailer, has appointed former Tesco <TSCO.L> executive Trevor Masters as managing director of its largest business PEPCO.

The group, formerly called Pepkor Europe and part of South Africa's Steinhoff <SNHJ.J>, has been linked with a possible stock market listing next year. Steinhoff, hit by an accounting scandal in 2017, wants to sell assets to cut its debt.

Pepco Group owns the PEPCO, Poundland and Dealz brands and has 2,698 stores in 14 countries, selling clothing, homewares, household goods and food.

The group said Masters will succeed current PEPCO managing director Rob Taylor, who has held the post since 2004. He will be based in Poland and start on Nov. 1.

Masters spent over 30 years at Tesco, latterly as CEO for all its international operations after leading Tesco's Asian business. He was previously responsible for Tesco's operations across Central Europe. He left Tesco in 2017.

(Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle)