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* Tesco says M&S CFO Alan Stewart to join firm in same role
* No start date given for Stewart
* Stewart likely to be held to 6mth notice and non-competeclause
* M&S shares down 1 pct, Tesco shares up 0.5 pct (Adds detail, analyst comments, shares)
By James Davey
LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Marks & Spencer ChiefFinance Officer Alan Stewart has quit to join Tesco inthe same role, jumping ship from one struggling British retailerto another.
Just two days after helping M&S Chief Executive Marc Bollandpresent first-quarter sales, Stewart has left Britain's biggestclothing retailer to join the world's third-biggest stores groupon an increased salary and with a 1.7 million pounds ($2.9million) golden hello.
His appointment will be a boost to Tesco CEO Philip Clarke,who is currently the only executive on Tesco's PLC board, andwho is facing questions over whether he has the right strategyto turn around the 95-year-old group.
"We wanted a candidate who had the right blend ofexperience, leadership and values to play a leading role in thetransformation of Tesco. We have found all three in Alan,"Clarke said.
Stewart abruptly left M&S' central London headquarters afterhanding in his notice early Thursday, a source familiar with thesituation said. But he was unlikely to start work at Tescobefore the end of this year due to a six-month notice period andthe triggering of a non-compete clause in his contract, thesource said.
Shares in M&S were down 1 percent at 1209 GMT, while Tesco'sshares were up 0.5 percent. Tesco's shares are hovering near10-year lows, while M&S's are down over 40 percent since theirpeak in 2007.
Tesco, which has been looking for a new finance chief sinceLaurie McIlwee announced his intention to quit in April, saidStewart would join "following satisfaction of existingcontractual obligations."
OPPORTUNISTIC
Stewart has held the CFO role at M&S since October 2010 andhad responsibility for property added to his role just 11 daysago when Bolland shuffled the remits of his executive team.
Stewart is a former finance director of WH Smith and has also held executive roles at HSBC and ThomasCook.
He leaves Bolland, who is also battling against toughtrading and who was criticised by private shareholders at thefirm's annual investor meeting on Tuesday.
"I can see why he wants to jump ship, given the gloomyoutlook for M&S, and that is a telling blow to the M&S recoverystory," independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said.
"Why he thinks Tesco is a better story is a more interestingquestion. And whether he will be any more investor friendly thanhis predecessor at Tesco remains to be seen."
Other analysts view Stewart's departure as opportunistic,and did not regard him as central to the delivery of M&S'splans.
Tony Shiret, retail analyst at Espirito Santo InvestmentBank, said Stewart had operated at M&S in broadly the same wayas when he was at WH Smith - on a lower level than the CEO inboth organisations, rather than as a counter-balance and sourceof strategy origination.
"We expect that this will continue at Tesco and see noreason to adapt our negative stance on that stock followingtoday's news," he said.
Stewart will see his basic annual salary rise from the579,000 pounds ($985,200) he was on at M&S to 750,000 pounds atTesco.
He will also be granted replacement share awards with avalue of 1.74 million pounds in lieu of his deferred shareawards from M&S that he will forfeit when he joins Tesco.
M&S said Stewart's responsibilities will be carried out onan interim basis by Paul Friston, a former director of financialgroup control who was recently appointed as executive assistantto Bolland. It said a search for Stewart's successor hasstarted.($1 = 0.5877 British Pounds) (Editing by Kate Holton and Jane Merriman)
