(Alliance News) - Hammerson PLC said Wednesday it has appointed Rita-Rose Gagne as its new chief executive.
Gagne was most recently president of Growth Markets at property manager Ivanhoe Cambridge, where she had responsibility for USD7.6 billion of real estate assets across Asia Pacific and Latin America, Hammerson noted.
Hammerson expects her to take up the new role before the end of the year. David Atkins will continue to serve as CEO until Gagne joins the company. The departure of Atkins by the spring of 2021 was announced by Hammerson back in May.
Chair Robert Noel said: "I am delighted that Rita-Rose will join Hammerson as our next CEO. She has an excellent track record in international real estate investment, building high-quality teams, developing strategic partnerships, execution and delivering results."
Gagne added: "The retail and real estate sectors are going through a period of unprecedented change which makes this a very exciting time to be joining the business. I look forward to working with Hammerson's experienced team and all its stakeholders to both navigate through the challenges but also seek out the opportunities to create value moving forward."
Shares in Hammerson were 5.8% higher in London at 15.89 pence Wednesday. In Johannesburg, the shares were 2.9% higher at ZAR3.60.
Hammerson on Friday last week completed its GBP552 million rights issue.
The shopping centre owner had said the rights issue was to strengthen its financial position, reducing debt and providing liquidity headroom and financial flexibility as it continues to refocus its portfolio towards flagship destinations in the UK and Ireland.
Hammerson has been "pro-actively" taking measures to deal with the "substantial" impact on its business, driven by major structural changes to the retail industry, which have been exacerbated by the effects of Covid-19.
By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com
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Hammerson (HMSO)