L&G’S Hughes named chairman of UK Property Industry Alliance

Bill Hughes, head of real assets at Legal & General Investment Management, has been appointed chairman of the Property Industry Alliance in the UK.

Hughes takes over from Robert Finch, who has chaired the PIA for the past five years and who in turn took over from David Clementi.

Established in May 2006, the Property Industry Alliance (PIA) is formed of the eight major UK property bodies who work together to give the commercial property sector a stronger collective voice on issues such as policy, research and best practice.

This appointment comes at a time when the role of the private sector in investing in the built environment has never been more important. Following the progressive retrenchment of the banks in providing long term finance and the continuing indebtedness of the Government, the role of the private sector in partnering with the public sector is becoming ever more crucial to unlocking growth.

'The Property Industry Alliance plays an integral part in voicing the role that UK commercial property plays in the wider UK economy and its importance in improving the totality of the built environment,' said Hughes. 'In this new role, I am particularly interested in emphasising the cross-sector synergies between real estate and investment in infrastructure in the UK, which is still significantly underplayed.'

He added: 'Regeneration has been identified by government and industry alike as one of the key drivers of UK growth and a game-changer in retaining international economic competitiveness. Therefore, it is essential that the property industry joins together in embracing the connection between infrastructure and real estate so that efficient investments can be made into improving the UK built environment.'

Members of the PIA include the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF), British Council for Offices (BCO), British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC), British Property Federation (BPF), Commercial Real Estate Finance Council Europe (CREFC Europe), Investment Property Forum (IPF), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).