Billionaire Domino’s Pizza Enterprises chairman Jack Cowin says he will top up his shareholding after the struggling fast food chain parted with long-time chief executive Don Meij following years of profit downgrades.

Mr Meij, who started as a delivery driver and held the top job for 22 years, said he had “so much fondness in my heart for this business” but it was time for him to leave. He will step down on Wednesday at the company’s annual meeting after failing to turn around the pizza franchise’s operations in France and Japan, where it has struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic.