I’m sure his cricketing chairman, Lord MacLaurin, will find him a seat.As for the new man, Arun Sarin, he had not been seen as the obvious successor. However, he is younger, has an international background and has a reputation for openness that Sir Christopher lacked. Perhaps we can look forward to better communication in the future.He faces a fresh set of challenges. Vodafone needs to prove that it can achieve economies of scale, that it can develop a global brand name and make a success of third-generation mobile.

The one geographic issue is the United States, where Vodafone’s 45 per cent stake in Verizon is a potential problem. If Vodafone really wants to be global it may need to take full control or sell up and buy something else Alternatively, it could pull out of that market altogether. As a US citizen, with good relations with US investors, Mr Sarin is well placed to make that call. We do seem on course for yet more pay rows, though, as Mr Sarin jets in from San Francisco on a Gent-style bumper package.As for Sir Christopher’s next move, those close to him say he is unlikely to take up a portfolio of non-executive directorships He has his eye on the political arena, apparently. And as a keen supporter of the Conservatives, he will surely be found a role somewhere.Hunter’s prey Tom Hunter, the Scottish entrepreneur, will announce today that he has increased his stake in Allders, the department store group which is the subject of bid interest from the property group Minerva and the former Bhs chief executive, Terry Green. It follows his purchase of a 1 per cent stake on Tuesday.All this is terribly confusing as Mr Hunter is supposed to be stalking House of Fraser, the rival department store retailer where he has built up a near 7 per cent stake.

Salomon Schroder Smith Barney has now had to stand down from advising Mr Hunter as it also advises Allders.Whatever can he be up to? Mr Hunter’s team says his stake-building in Allders is simply to secure a “seat at the table” as consolidation in the department store sector gets under way. But he is not ruling out a bid for both and an eventual merger of the two which must surely be the end-game.The worry for other shareholders is that this would rob them of the potential upside of a deal that has been discussed twice before. The only reason it failed last time was because the two sets of management couldn’t agree who should run it.The concern for Terry Green must be that he might miss out on another opportunity, having been passed over for the top job at Mothercare. The problem is that his chosen area of department stores is fast-disappearing into private hands.