| Thu 17 Jul 2008, 13:36 | | LBT - Liberty International Plc - Appointment of Patrick Burgess as Chairman of |
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LBT
LILII
LBT - Liberty International Plc - Appointment of Patrick Burgess as Chairman of
Liberty International Plc in succession to Sir Robert Finch
LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL PLC
(Registration number UK3685527)
ISIN Code: GB0006834344
JSE Code: LBT
Issuer Code: LILI I
17 July 2008
Appointment of Patrick Burgess as Chairman of Liberty International PLC in
succession to Sir Robert Finch
Liberty International announces the appointment of Patrick Burgess MBE as
Chairman of Liberty International with effect from 31 July 2008 following the
decision by Sir Robert Finch to retire from the Board.
Sir Robert Finch has today announced that he will be leaving Liberty
International PLC at the end of his 3 year term of office. He will remain a
consultant to the group for a further 2 years.
Patrick has been an independent non-executive Director of Liberty International
since 2001 and will be independent upon his appointment as Chairman. Patrick has
a broad range of highly relevant experience in the corporate world and the Board
looks forward to his contribution to the group`s future development.
Biographical details of Patrick Burgess are attached to this press release.
Liberty International much regrets that Sir Robert has decided to leave the
Group and thanks Sir Robert for his significant efforts and wishes him well in
the years ahead.
Sir Robert Finch said:
"I have now completed my term of office at Liberty International and now wish to
pursue a number of very promising opportunities. Accordingly, the Directors have
agreed to my departure from the Board with effect from 31 July 2008.
We have achieved much in my time at the Company. It is now a REIT; we have
repositioned Capital & Counties and I leave with the Company well placed for the
years ahead. I wish the Company well."
Patrick Burgess commented:
"I am delighted to take on the position of Chairman of Liberty International.
Sir Robert has successfully guided the affairs of the Company during his time as
Chairman and leaves Liberty International in good shape. On behalf of the Board
I thank him for his significant contribution and wish him every success in the
future. I look forward to continuing the successful development of Liberty
International."
Biographical details of Patrick Burgess
Background:
Aged 63. Married with three children.
Educated at Wimbledon College then Beaumont College and Gonville & Caius
College, Cambridge (where he was an Open Scholar). He read Architecture and
English: MA (Cantab).
Professional:
He qualified as a Solicitor in 1972 and became a partner in Gouldens in 1974;
serving, subsequently, as the head of the Corporate Department for fourteen
years and as Senior Partner for six. He was one of three partners who
rejuvenated a very long established firm and built it into one of the best known
firms among the top fifteen in the City of London. Under his aegis the firm
amalgamated in 2003 with Jones Day where he remained until 2007 when the
integration process was complete.
He has an extensive experience of corporate governance and corporate and tax
work, both domestically and internationally; his specialist areas are mergers
and acquisitions and corporate structuring, although he has conducted
significant assignments in the fields of joint ventures, venture capital/private
equity and international corporate structures.
He also has considerable experience in compliance, regulatory and Stock Exchange
matters, has lectured for the London Stock Exchange and has been a regular
public speaker in the City.
Business:
Besides his corporate law work, he has a wide experience of business. He is an
active non-executive director of a number of public listed and larger private
companies. In addition to his role as Senior Independent Director and Chairman
of the Audit Committee of Liberty International, he is a non-executive director
of Standard Bank London PLC and, previously, a non-executive director of the
Kaye Organisation Limited, holding company of Lansing Bagnall Limited, one of
the UK`s larger successful engineering manufacturing groups, First Technology
PLC and a number of other companies.
Corporate Finance:
He was one of only two members who sat on both of the London Stock Exchange
working parties which led to the formation of AIM and was for some time a member
of the AIM Appeals Committee.
He is the author of "Unlocking Growth - the Burgess Report on Venture Capital"
published March 2001, a shortened version of which was published by CPS and
which was explicitly stated to be presented on non party political lines. He is
currently working on an update. He was a member of the C.B.I. committee which
published "A Bigger Share - encouraging growth in smaller companies" published
in October 2001 by the CBI/SME Council (on which he sat between 2000 and 2005).
Civic & Charitable:
He was master of the Worshipful Company of Feltmakers in 2004 and is also a
Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Solicitors. He is a Member of the Order
of the British Empire and an Officer of the Venerable Order of St. John. He has
been active in a number of community groups where he has lived and is the
Chairman of the Council of St. John for Sussex. He is involved in a number of
other Charities including the Chairmanship of the Thrombosis Research Institute
(attached to the University of London).
BACKGROUND ON LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL
LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL PLC is one of the UK`s largest listed property companies
and a constituent of the FTSE-100 Index of the UK`s leading listed companies.
Liberty International converted into a UK Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) on
1 January 2007.
Liberty International owns 100 per cent of Capital Shopping Centres ("CSC"), the
premier UK regional shopping centre business, and of Capital & Counties, a
retail and commercial property investment and development company.
At 31 December 2007, Liberty International held GBP8.6 billion of total
properties of which UK regional shopping centres comprised 75 per cent and
retail property in aggregate 88 per cent. Shareholders` funds (diluted,
adjusted) amounted to GBP4.7 billion. Assets of the group under control or joint
control amounted to GBP11.0 billion at that date.
CAPITAL SHOPPING CENTRES has interests in 14 UK regional shopping centres
amounting to 12.6 million sq.ft. in aggregate including 8 of the UK`s top 21
regional shopping centres with a market value of GBP6.5 billion at 31 December
2007. CSC`s largest centres are Lakeside, Thurrock; MetroCentre, Gateshead;
Braehead, Renfrew, Glasgow; The Harlequin, Watford; and Manchester Arndale. In
addition, CSC has three major development projects in progress or with planning
permission in Cardiff, Newcastle and Oxford.
CAPITAL & COUNTIES owned assets of GBP2.2 billion at 31 December 2007 amounting
to 7.2 million sq.ft. in aggregate. Capital & Counties had around GBP664 million
invested in the Covent Garden area including the historic Covent Garden Market,
and around GBP353 million in Central London, primarily through the Great Capital
Partnership, a joint venture with Great Portland Estates plc. Capital & Counties
acquired 50 per cent of EC&O Venues (Earls Court and Olympia Group) in 2007 for
a sum that valued the assets at approximately GBP375 million. In addition,
Capital & Counties had interests in the USA amounting to GBP381 million (2.7
million sq.ft.), predominantly comprising retail assets in California, including
the 856,000 sq.ft. Serramonte Shopping Centre, Daly City, San Francisco.
Date: 17/07/2008 13:36:02 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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