Hammerson’s MD to stand down

Property firm Hammerson has announced that Lawrence Hutchings, Managing Director of UK

Retail at the company and member of the Group Executive Committee, is to stand down from his post in September.

Citing personal reasons, Hammerson stated that Hutchings will be taking a sabbatical to spend time with his family in his native Australia.

Following Hutchings departure, the three operational divisions of its UK retail business will report directly to CEO David Atkins, while Andrew Berger-North will maintain his role as Director, Retail Parks and Simon Travis will continue to be responsible for managing the company’s investment in Value Retail.

Atkins thanked Hutchings, saying: "In his four years at Hammerson, Lawrence has made a major contribution to the way we manage our retail assets and developments. I understand his reasons for leaving and naturally I'm sorry to see him go. I thank him for all he has done for us and I wish him well for the future."