British Land’s chief executive Stephen Hester is expected to take over at the helm of Royal Bank of Scotland.

Royal Bank of Scotland would not confirm nor deny reports this morning that the current management would be ousted and Hester, along with current Sainsbury’s chairman Sir Philip Hampton, would be parachuted in.

A spokeswoman said: ‘We have been uniquely focused on working with government and the other banks to bring stability to the system. Management changes have not been a feature of these discussions.’

It is expected that the current management - chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin and chairman Sir Tom McKillop – will be replaced by Hester and Hampton respectively.

Hester joined the RBS board three months ago and was considered by some as the heir apparent to Goodwin.