Ellingham to lead M7's newly launched development business

M7 Real Estate has appointed Hugh Ellingham chief executive to lead a newly created brownfield redevelopment business.

The pan-European asset manager has launched the planning and development business M7 Developments to focus on opportunities, principally in the UK. 

M7 Developments will be led by Ellingham and Ben Hooton. Ellingham, currently non-executive chairman of M7, will stand down from the board of M7 after serving for over four years. Hooton is M7’s planning director.

A new non-executive chairman of M7 is expected to be announced in the coming days, it said.

M7 said the new business will build on the group’s developments, in particular, its current 750,000sqft phased mixed-use brownfield redevelopment of The Green in Solihull in the West Midlands.  M7 acquired the 47-acre regeneration project in December 2015.

Richard Croft, the chief executive of M7 Real Estate, said: “This is a natural progression for M7, building on our expertise in the UK multi-let real estate market and ability to identify value potential through the deployment of often complex asset management initiatives.

“We remain committed to the UK market and I look forward to working closely with Hugh in developing this business.”

Ellingham said: “There is a compelling opportunity to generate attractive returns through strategic redevelopment in a range of locations across the country, such as our site in the West Midlands, where high-quality mixed-use regeneration is sought after, often with an emphasis on the provision of new homes, against a limited supply.

”We are actively pursuing a pipeline of projects as we focus on growing the business.”