The Crown Estate appoints new chief financial officer

The Crown Estate, which runs the British monarch’s land and property portfolio, has named Kate Bowyer as its new chief financial officer, following the retirement of John Lelliott, who will be leaving after over 30 years with the business.

Bowyer, who most recently served as director of finance at Intu Properties, will also be joining the executive committee of the 9.6 billion pound retail and leisure property business. She will be “working closely” with chief executive Alison Nimmo a statement confirmed, and the wider executive committee, to determine the “business’s strategic and commercial agenda, driving high performance, long-term growth and value creation”.

Commenting on the appointment, Nimmo, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Kate to our high performing team. Kate’s wealth of experience across the property and retail sector, alongside her impressive track record in financial management, will be invaluable to ensuring The Crown Estate remains a UK success story.”

Bowyer added: “I’m very pleased to be joining The Crown Estate. It’s a business which sees the big picture and takes a long-term approach to how it creates value across its core sectors to drive market outperformance and strong returns to the public finances.”

The Crown Estate portfolio in Central London includes the entire freehold to Regent Street, as well as nearly 50 percent of the buildings in St James’s. Regionally, the group’s portfolio consists 14 retail parks, 3 shopping centres, 2 leisure destinations, including Leicester's Fosse Shopping Park, Oxford’s Westgate Centre, Exeter’s Princesshay and Worcester’s CrownGate Centre.