Baroness Ford out, Mark Clare in at Grainger

Residential landlord Grainger announced on Wednesday that Baroness Ford, the non-executive chairman of the company, had notified the board of her intention to step down at the next annual general meeting on 8 February.

The FTSE 250 firm said Baroness Ford will have served a full nine years on the board of Grainger at that point - the last two in the role of non-executive chairman.

Grainger also announced that Mark Clare will join the company as non-executive chairman of the board on 13 February.

It said 59-year-old Clare is currently senior independent director of both United Utilities Group and Ladbrokes Coral Group, and a non-executive director of Premier Marinas Holdings.

He was previously chief executive of Barratt Developments from 2006-2015 and is a former trustee of the Building Research Establishment and the UK Green Building Council.

Prior to joining Barratt, he was an executive director of Centrica and held a number of senior roles both within Centrica and British Gas.

Mark has also been a non-executive director of airport operator BAA.

Finally, Grainger also announced that Justin Read will join the board as a non-executive director on 13 February.

Read was group finance director of SEGRO from August 2011 to December 2016.

Between 2008 and 2011 he was group finance director at Speedy Hire, and prior to that, he spent 13 years in a variety of roles at Hanson, including deputy finance director, managing director of Hanson Continental Europe, head of corporate development, head of risk management and group treasurer.

Read has also held positions at Euro Disney and Bankers Trust Company, and he was recently appointed as a non-executive director of Ibstock.

“We would like to thank Margaret for her significant contribution over the past nine years,” said chief executive Helen Gordon.

“She has been instrumental in identifying the need for a step change in the group's strategic direction and has supported the new team in delivering it.”

Gordon said the group was being transformed into a private rented sector investment business with a sustainable and viable income stream from well-run private rented residential homes, and remained in a strong position to continue to deliver on its growth strategy and enhance shareholder returns.

Margaret Ford, non-executive chairman, said the board has set very challenging requirements for Grainger's new chairman and was very pleased that Mark Clare met all the criteria.

“Mark is an enormously experienced and respected business leader with a strong record in the residential sector.

“He will bring great leadership, integrity and knowledge to the role, supporting Grainger's continued strategic transformation to deliver improved shareholder returns.”