Countrywide appoints Peter Long as chairman

Estate agency group Countrywide has appointed former TUI chief executive Peter Long as its new non-executive chairman.

Long – chairman of Royal Mail – will succeed Grenville Turner, who will retire at the company’s 2015 annual general meeting on 27 April.

He has held a variety of senior roles in the travel and leisure sector and was previously a non-executive director at RAC, Rentokil Initial and Debenhams.

Long said: “I am delighted to be joining the Countrywide board as chairman and am looking forward to working with Alison and her team. The group has a clear focus on its customers as it executes its strategy and generates long-term sustainable shareholder value."

At 1118 GMT, Countrywide shares were down 2.4% to 343.50p.