British Land Board
British Land Co PLC
26 March 2003
26th March 2003
British Land Board
The Board of The British Land Company PLC announces, pursuant to the statement
made last July, that the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive will be split not
later than the time of the 2004 Annual General Meeting. It is the Board's
intention to appoint a Chief Executive after a search process, conducted by the
Nomination Committee, which will include internal and external candidates. Mr.
John Ritblat will continue as Chairman for a period after the appointment of the
Chief Executive to ensure the orderly succession and continuity in executive
management of the Company, which is the Board's objective.
Given proposed changes in best corporate governance practice, the Board has also
decided with immediate effect to appoint Dr. Chris Gibson-Smith as Senior
Independent Non-Executive Director in succession to Mr. Michael Cassidy, who
remains a non-executive director. The Board will not therefore appoint an
independent additional Deputy Chairman.
As previously announced, Mr. Cyril Metliss will retire from the Board at the
2003 Annual General Meeting, at which point there will be a majority of
non-executive directors on the Board. Biographical details of all directors are
appended to this press release.
The Company's Board Committees have been reconstituted with immediate effect as
follows:
Audit Committee Remuneration Committee Nomination Committee
Lord Burns (Chairman) Mr. Derek Higgs (Chairman) Dr. Chris Gibson-Smith (Chairman)
Dr. Chris Gibson-Smith Lord Burns Lord Burns
Mr. David Michels Dr. Chris Gibson-Smith Mr. Michael Cassidy
Mr. David Michels Mr. Derek Higgs
Mr. David Michels
Mr. John Ritblat
Mr. Robert Swannell
Mr. John Weston Smith
Contacts
British Land:
John Weston Smith, Chief Operating Officer, tel. no. 020 7467 2899
Finsbury:
Roland Rudd tel. no. 020 7251 3801
Edward Orlebar tel. no. 020 7251 3801
Notes to Editors
The British Land Company PLC Board
Executive Directors:
Mr. John Ritblat (Chairman and Managing Director since July 1971, having joined
the predecessor company in 1969). He is founding Chairman of Colliers Conrad
Ritblat Erdman.
Mr. Cyril Metliss (until the 2003 AGM). He was a senior partner at Stoy Hayward
& Co., chartered accountants, before becoming a director of the Company in July
1971.
Mr. John Weston Smith (Chief Operating Officer). Previously he was joint
general manager of the Abbey National Building Society. He was appointed a
director in January 1973.
Mr Nicholas Ritblat (Director, Corporate Finance). He previously worked for S.
G. Warburg & Co. Ltd.'s corporate and international finance divisions. He was
appointed a director in September 1991.
Mr. Robert Bowden (Property Investment Director). He was a former senior
partner at Conrad Ritblat & Co. He was appointed a director in June 1997.
Mr. Graham Roberts (Finance Director). He was senior real estate partner at
Andersen before joining the Board in January 2002.
Non-Executive Directors:
Mr. Derek Higgs (Deputy Chairman). He is a Senior Adviser in the UK to UBS
Warburg and Chairman of Business in the Environment and Partnerships UK plc.
His other appointments include membership of the Financial Reporting Council and
non-executive directorships of Egg plc, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., London Regional
Transport and Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. He became a director in July 2000.
Dr. Chris Gibson-Smith (Senior Independent Non-Executive Director). He is
Chairman of National Air Traffic Services and a non-executive director of Lloyds
TSB Bank plc. Formerly he was Group Managing Director of BP plc. He became a
director in January 2003.
Mr. Michael Cassidy is a practising solicitor and was formerly Chairman of the
Policy and Resources Committee of the Corporation of London. He became a
director in January 1996.
Mr. Robert Swannell is Co-Chairman of Schroder Salomon Smith Barney. He is a
member of the Regulatory Decisions Committee of the Financial Services Authority
and a member of the Industrial Development Advisory Board of the Department of
Trade and Industry. He became a director in August 1999.
Lord Burns is Chairman of Abbey National plc and of Glas Cymru Cyfyngedig (Welsh
Water). He is also a non-executive director of Pearson plc. Previously he was
a non-executive director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Legal & General
Group plc, and before that was Permanent Secretary of H.M. Treasury between 1991
and 1998. He became a director in July 2000.
Mr. David Michels is Chief Executive of Hilton Group plc. He is a non-executive
director of Hilton Hotels Corporation. He joined the Board in January 2003.
British Land
British Land is one of the largest listed property companies with a portfolio
under management of £11 billion, primarily consisting of prime out-of-town
shopping and London offices. Net assets per share rose in the six months ended
30th September to 822p per share. The Company has raised its dividends in every
year since 1982.
Process
The Nomination Committee is appointing an external recruitment consultancy to
advise on the process of appointing a new Chief Executive.
-ends-
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