Countrywide appoints Peter Long as chairman

(ShareCast News) - Estate agency group Countrywide has appointed former TUI chief executive Peter Long as its new non-executive chairman.Long - chairman of Royal Mail - will succeed Grenville Turner, who will retire at the company's 2015 annual general meeting on 27 April.He has held a variety of senior roles in the travel and leisure sector and was previously a non-executive director at RAC, Rentokil Initial and Debenhams.Long said: "I am delighted to be joining the Countrywide board as chairman and am looking forward to working with Alison and her team. The group has a clear focus on its customers as it executes its strategy and generates long-term sustainable shareholder value."At 1118 GMT, Countrywide shares were down 2.4% to 343.50p.