9th Nov 2007 11:01
Wichford plc09 November 2007 Wichford PLC ("Wichford" or the "Company") Directorate Changes 9 November 2007 Wichford PLC, the property investment company, is pleased to announce a seriesof planned changes to its board. Michael Sheehan has retired from the board of Wichford as Non-executiveChairman. Existing Non-executive Director Philippe de Nicolay has succeeded himwith immediate effect. Mr. de Nicolay has been a Non-executive Director of theCompany since 28 June 2004. Wichford also announces the appointment of two new Non-executive Directors, MarkTaylor and Richard Melhuish, with immediate effect. (Robert) Mark Taylor Mark Taylor (aged 56) is a chartered accountant with almost 30 years financialand general management experience in the construction, property development andinvestment sectors. He was Finance Director and Company Secretary of Workspace Group PLC for 12years from 1995-2007. Prior to this Mr. Taylor spent 17 years with John Laingwhere he was both Joint Managing Director of John Laing Developments Ltd andGroup Investment Director. Following this he joined the Ministry of Defence fora short period to assist in the privatisation of its married quarters' estate. Mr. Taylor qualified as an accountant in 1972, being admitted as a fellow of theICAEW in 1975 and will take over as Chairman of the Company's Audit Committeefrom Hugh Ward, who will continue to be a member of the Audit Committee. Richard Melhuish Richard Marcus Melhuish (aged 60) qualified in 1973 as a Chartered Surveyor andhas over 30 years' experience in property investment and asset management. He was previously managing director and co-founder of Chancerygate AssetManagement Limited. Since 2006 Mr. Melhuish has been a director of Chancerygate(IOM) Limited where he is responsible for strategy management, portfolioperformance and acquiring and selling property. Since starting up Chancerygate,he has been responsible for acquiring and selling £400 million of property. Prior to this, Mr Melhuish worked from 1978 at Liverpool Victoria FriendlySociety Limited where, as head of property from 1993, he was responsible for theproperty elements of both the Life Fund and the Staff Pension Fund. These twofunds directly owned property assets valued around £500 million. From 1975 to 1978 Mr Melhuish worked as a senior valuer at Smiths Industries.Mr Melhuish was ARICS (Associate, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors),qualified in 1975 and elected FRICS (Fellow, Royal Institution of CharteredSurveyors) in 1978. Philippe de Nicolay, the new Chairman of Wichford, commented: "I would like to thank Michael Sheehan for his outstanding contribution toWichford since its flotation in 2004. His experience has been crucial during theearly development of the company's portfolio and I wish him well in hisretirement." "I am also delighted that Mark Taylor and Richard Melhuish, with their diverseexperience and complementary skills, have agreed to join the board of Wichford.They will both be excellent additions to the board and I look forward to workingwith them in the future." Enquiries: Wichford PLCDavid Harrel 020 7111 2222Jamie Hambro 020 7747 5678 Citigate Dewe Rogerson 020 7638 9571George CazenoveHannah Seward Evolution Securities 020 7071 4300Jeremy Ellis/Neil Elliot Notes to editors Wichford PLC (AIM:WICH) is a property investment company, with a portfoliofocused on UK investment property outside Central London occupied exclusively byUK Central Government bodies. Approximately a quarter of the portfolio comprisespublic sector rented properties in France, Germany and the Netherlands The Company currently owns 78 properties with a gross asset value of circa £668million generating a rental income of circa £39.5 million per annum. TheCompany's portfolio of properties has unit values usually between £2m and £30m.The Company's current core portfolio has a weighted average unexpired lease termof circa 11 years. Disclosure of Directorships Save for the declarations below there are no disclosures to be made in respectof the appointment of Robert Taylor and Richard Melhuish under the AIM rules. a) Robert Mark Taylor, Past Directorships Workspace Group PLC Workspace 1 Ltd Workspace 2 Ltd Workspace 3 Ltd Workspace 4 Ltd Workspace 5 Ltd Workspace 6 Ltd Workspace 7 Ltd Workspace 8 Ltd Workspace 9 Ltd Workspace 10 Ltd Workspace 11 Ltd Workspace 12 Ltd Workspace 13 Ltd Workspace 14 Ltd Workspace 15 Ltd Workspace Glebe Ltd Glebe 3 Ltd Workspace Holdings Ltd L I Property Services Ltd Workspace Management Ltd Midlands Workspace Ltd TradeLink (Workspace) Ltd Enerjet Ltd Vylan Ltd London Industrial (Kingsland Viaduct) Ltd Redhill Workspace Ltd Workspace Plus Ltd Three Mills Film and Television Studios Ltd Workspace Essentials Limited small.co.uk limited Workspaces Limited b) Robert Mark Taylor, Current Directorships Bois Consulting Ltd Leonard's Piece Ltd c) Richard Marcus Melhuish, Past Directorships Marroo Limited Shamara Limited Excellion Limited Wyforthe Limited Primequota (Bamber Bridge 2000) Limited Precis (2113) Limited Precis (2114) Limited Precis (1657) Limited Precis (2178) Limited Precis (2177) Limited Precis (2163) Limited Precis (2214) Limited Precis (2213) Limited Chancerygate Asset Management Limited Chancerygate Industrial (Developments) Ltd Chancerygate Retail Warehouse Ltd. Chancerygate Funds Management Ltd O &T (Marlow) Ltd. d) Richard Marcus Melhuish Current Directorships Castletown Private Equity Limited Castletown (General Partner I) Limited Castletown (General Partner II) Limited Castletown (General Partner III) Limited Chancerygate (IOM) Limited Glenville Limited Hillberry Director Services Limited Papua Limited Ariston Investments Limited Ariston Investments Sub A Limited Ariston Investments Sub B Limited Ariston Investments Sub C Limited Dev Property Development PLC Tarvel Properties Ltd Simeon Properties Ltd Mondragon LLP This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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