LondonMetric Property has appointed Alistair Elliott as its next chair, after some shareholders voted against Patrick Vaughan’s re-election to the role last year.
Elliott (pictured), who joined LondonMetric as a non-executive director last year, will succeed Vaughan as chair of the company’s board and nomination committee on 11 July this year. His appointment is part of the business’s long-term succession plan.
The company said that Vaughn decided to step down from the role. The news comes after last year’s AGM, when 79.2% of shareholder votes were in favour of re-electing Vaughan as chair of the board. That fell below an 80% threshold, requiring the company to update the market on its engagement and action taken since the meeting.
LondonMetric said that some shareholders voted against the resolution since female representation on the board fell below 33% and on the back of concerns that Vaughan’s tenure had exceeded nine years.
The company said it was “disappointed” with that feedback. It underlined that it had stated in its annual report that the chair’s continued service was “only on a short-term basis” and that an active search was underway for both a new chair and a female non-executive director.
LondonMetric said that female representation on the board will increase to 33%, from 30%, at its next AGM. It is also in the “advanced stages” of recruiting a female non-executive director and that it expects to announce an appointment over the next two months.
LondonMetric chief executive Andrew Jones said: “Patrick has been instrumental in the creation and success of LondonMetric and it is with sadness that he will be stepping down. He has had an incredible career and it has been a personal pleasure to work with him across 28 years.
“He has provided me with extensive support and inspired so many real estate professionals across our industry. He will be sorely missed, but I am pleased the board has identified an excellent successor in Alistair, and I look forward to working more closely with him over the coming years.”
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