Meinl European Land (MEL) announced on Wednesday that J Sainsbury's current property director Peter Baguley has agreed to become an independent non-executive director of MEL. Baguley is also on the advisory boards of the British Council of Shopping Centres and is a member of the Bank of England Property Forum.

Meinl European Land (MEL) announced on Wednesday that J Sainsbury's current property director Peter Baguley has agreed to become an independent non-executive director of MEL. Baguley is also on the advisory boards of the British Council of Shopping Centres and is a member of the Bank of England Property Forum.

Baguley's appointment is conditional upon closing of the investment in the company by CPI/Gazit Holdings, a joint venture between Gazit-Globe, a multinational real estate investment company listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and CPI Austria Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of real estate fund CPI Capital Partners Europe.

In addition, upon closing of the investment, the company's name will be changed to Atrium European Real Estate and an internal management structure will be adopted with a new management team.

MEL's chairman Georg Kucian, said: 'We are confident that Peter's experience in managing retail properties will help to develop MEL's position as a leading property development company in Central and Eastern Europe.'