Former Olympic Park chief accepts seat on SEGRO board

Baroness Margaret Ford – the former chairman of the Olympic Legacy Company – has been appointed non-executive director of industrial real estate investment trust SEGRO.

Chairman of the Bank of Ireland UK and senior partner at financial consultancy Penfida Partners Christopher Fisher is set to join alongside, with both taking up their roles as of 1 October 2012.

Ford will act as both senior independent director and chair of the remuneration company, following moves from Andrew Palmer and Chris Peacock respectively.

SEGRO chairman Nigel Rich told Estates Gazette: "I would like to thank Andrew Palmer and Chris Peacock for their tremendous contribution to our board over the past nine years. As SEGRO has undergone significant change during this period, they have provided guidance and wisdom for which I and my fellow board colleagues have been very grateful. I wish them both well in the future."

He described the new appointees as "two very talented individuals who, between them, have an extensive depth and breadth of industry and board experience".

"With their considerable knowledge of the property sector, they will be a great asset to our board as SEGRO continues with the strategic repositioning of its portfolio," added Rich.

The move comes on the back of the announcement by Fitch Ratings last week that confirmed a stable outlook for SEGRO’s senior unsecured rating of ‘A’, Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘BBB+’ and Short-term IDR of ‘F2’. It suggests that property markets have moved further in to a stage of recovery, with consolidation becoming a technical requirement after a week of substantial action.

Elsewhere in the Olympic Park, iCity have confirmed 47% pre let of the Media Centre, with Stratford touted as a new technological centre for the capital. As the reputation of the area as a corporate centre grows, Search Office Space is ideally placed to offer the latest commercial London offices.

Photo courtesy of London 2012.