Marks & Spencer will start searching for a new chief executive in September, paving the way for Sir Stuart Rose, its executive chairman, to make an early exit next year.

The high-street bellwether has been inundated with calls from headhunters keen to win the prestigious instruction to find Rose’s replacement.

The City is convinced M&S will appoint an external candidate. Justin King of Sainsbury, Andy Bond of Asda, Charles Wilson of Booker, Terry Duddy of Home Retail Group, Ben Gordon of Mothercare and Kate Swann of WH Smith have all been touted as possible runners but, given M&S’s overseas expansion ambitions, a wider field of international executives could be considered.

Sir David Michels, deputy chairman of M&S, is in charge of the search.

News that M&S plans to get on with the hunt after the summer will draw a line under speculation about how long Rose plans to remain. He agreed to stay with the business until July 2011 at the latest but it now seems certain he will leave a year earlier if a successor can be found.

Rose has told friends that he would like to step down as soon as a new person is in place. In a recent newspaper interview he shocked the City by talking about problems in his personal life and the way M&S has completely eaten up his life.

M&S is bracing itself for a stormy annual meeting next month, when shareholders will vote on a resolution forcing Rose to split his combined role as chairman and chief executive, which is seen as a breach of best corporate governance practice.

The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum wants M&S to appoint an independent chairman by July 2010. About 22% of investors abstained or voted against Rose’s election as executive chairman last July in one of the biggest shareholder rebellions in recent times.

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