THE first floor of the Boots branch in Lewisham resembles a jumble sale. It is hard to believe that the store in southeast London is owned by a FTSE 100 institution.

For most of the year the first floor is used for storage, but it is now home to hundreds of unwanted Christmas presents, with perfume gift packs, cheap aftershave and beauty products piled on temporary shelving. There are also some rather tatty toys and a pile of baby clothes.

In January Richard Baker, the embattled chief executive of Boots, assured shareholders and City analysts that the company’s stock position was “in line with expectations”. Clearance of Christmas stock was “progressing well”, he said.

Yet two months later staff in Lewisham are still trying to clear the shelves of the remnants of Christmas. And it is not an isolated case.

The Sunday Times has learnt that surplus stock from Boots stores has been centrally collected and sent to 100 stores across Britain.

According to staff in Lewisham, it will take at least a “couple of weeks” to offload the last of the FCUK washbags and Sanctuary gift boxes.

It is great news for shoppers. For once, the discounts at Boots are genuine, with up to 75% off Christmas box sets and children’s gifts. But for the retail giant’s beleaguered shareholders, news that the company is still sitting on surplus Christmas gifts will add to growing concerns.

Baker insists that stock clearance is on track. But the City is growing increasingly sceptical. At the beginning of this month Boots was forced to issue a profit warning, just weeks after reassuring shareholders that trading was in line with forecasts. A week later Boots announced that Howard Dodd, the finance director, was leaving. It appears to be a company teetering on the brink of crisis.

Boots claims that Dodd had decided to leave before the profit warning and that it was his decision. Yet events last weekend suggest that his departure was not as smooth as the Boots spin doctors claim.

Last Friday City insiders suggested that Dodd was forced out after a breakdown in communication between the finance director and chief executive.

There is growing concern among shareholders at the mixed messages emanating from the Boots headquarters in Nottingham.

Donal McCabe, the head of financial media relations at Boots, and Andrew Grant, the founder of Tulchan Communications and a Boots adviser, both denied Dodd was leaving when they were quizzed by The Sunday Times a week last Friday.

Three days later, after Dodd’s resignation last Monday, they insisted that they simply had not known that he intended to quit.