REAL ESTATE - John Kuik will join the board at Corio as chief financial officer at the beginning of May, the Utrecht-based property company said last week.

He will replace Jan Procter, who has served as interim CFO since August 2005.

Asked why it had taken so long to fill the post, investor relations manager Francine Zijlstra said: “We wanted to find the best CFO.” She cited Kuik’s international experience, familiarity with risk management and accountancy expertise as criteria for the decision. Kuik was previously a partner at Arthur Andersen and, until last year, Deloitte.

Zijlstra said Docter had done “a wonderful job” in the meantime. “The CEO also contributed.”

Joining Kuik on the board – though without portfolio – will be Frederic Fontaine, CEO of Corio France, and Gerard Groener, CEOs of Corio France and Corio Nederland Retail, respectively. Both men – appointed for two-year terms – will continue in their current roles and with their existing remuneration packages.

The appointments come as Corio announced that it had agreed to lease its 17,000 square metre Noortse Bosch office block at the Vijzelgracht in Amsterdam to the Stichting Netherlands Financial Markets Authority (AFM). AFM will rent the building, which is currently being renovated, from January 2007.