REAL ESTATE - John Kuik has resigned as chief financial officer at Corio, the property investment company.

According to Corio, the sudden departure was the result of ‘differences in opinion on policy matters’.

Corio will search for a quick replacement of its CFO. In the meantime, chairman Jan de Kreij will take over Kuik’s tasks and responsibilities, it added in a brief statement.

Earlier this year, Kuik had been appointed as successor of interim CFO Jan Docter. According to the Dutch Investors Association, or VEB, Kuik was one of the potential successors of chairman de Kreij, who will leave in 2008.

Docter had been appointed in 2005, after the supervisory board of Corio had ousted the then CFO John van Leeuwen, who was the third senior officer at Corio requested to leave within a few years.

Before Kuik joined Corio, he was a partner at auditing and consultancy firm Deloitte. Neither he nor Corio was available for further comment.

Corio is one of the largest listed property investment companies with a focus on retail in Europe. Of it’s portfolio of €4.8bn, 80% is retail centres – managed by Corio - in the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain and Turkey.