James Cooksey is leaving the Crown Estate after more than a decade with the business to become the new chief executive of investment company Old Park Lane Management.
Cooksey will take the reins in September from Tim Sketchley, a former Cushman & Wakefield partner who is stepping down after 12 years leading the company but will remain a consultant to the business.
Cooksey has spent more than 12 years at the Crown Estate, joining in 2009 as head of the St James’s and regional portfolios and in 2015 being promoted to director of central London. He will leave the business in July, and described the estate as having “a unique heritage and an exciting future ahead”.
He added: “Now feels like the right time to start a new chapter, and I’m very excited to be joining Old Park Lane Management, which has assembled an enviable portfolio of large-scale central London developments in some of the capital’s best locations.”
Sketchley described Cooksey as “the perfect choice” to take Old Park Lane Management into its “next phase of expansion”. The company’s 1.5m sq ft portfolio includes: 20 Ropemaker, a 420,000 sq ft office building in the Square Mile that is 70% prelet to Linklaters as the law firm’s new headquarters; 7 Millbank, a planned 130,000 sq ft commercial redevelopment in Westminster; and LSQ, the 200,000 sq ft development on the west side of Leicester Square that is leased to tenants including Lego and the American NFL.
Crown Estate chief executive Dan Labbad said: “James has made an invaluable contribution during his time at the Crown Estate. He has worked closely with our partners and customers to oversee a number of landmark projects in London’s West End, building on the heritage of this world-renowned destination to create places that are designed around the needs of people for generations to come.
“While we are sad to see him go, I am delighted that he will be continuing to play an active role in London’s future and wish him every success in his new role.”
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