Ocado co-founder Jason Gissing sold £15m of shares on day he announced his retirement from online grocer

Ocado said outgoing Gissing was leaving to focus on environmental issues and spend time with his children

Jason Gissing helped turn Ocado into one of the country’s greenest firms

Jason Gissing, the co-founder and commercial director of Ocado, was £15 million richer today as it emerged he cashed in three million shares on the same day he announced his retirement from the online grocer.

The deal means the businessman has shed a third of his sellable shares — half his stake is tied up in a company trust — and could be seen by some as a dent to his future confidence in the company he founded with friends and former Goldman Sachs colleagues Tim Steiner and Jonathan Faiman.

Shares in Ocado have soared 400 per cent in the past year, with Gissing keen to cash in on the sky-high rise following a deal with Morrisons. On Tuesday, when Gissing sold the shares at 498.75p a pop, the company shed 5 per cent. Today it edged up 7p to 533.5p.

Ocado said Gissing was leaving to focus on environmental issues and see more of his four young children. He now has 15 million shares.