Director of Operations Appointment

RNS Number : 9226S

Grainger PLC

22 March 2021

 

22 March 2021

Grainger plc

("Grainger", the "Group", or the "Company")

Director of Operations Appointment

Grainger plc, the UK's largest listed residential landlord and leader in the build-to-rent sector, is pleased to announce that John Blanshard has been appointed as its Director of Operations.

John will start on 29 March 2021, joining Grainger's Executive Committee. As Director of Operations, John will be responsible for Grainger's national operations, customer service, customer experience and health & safety, including Grainger's market-leading Live.Safe programme.

John was previously Chief Customer Officer at Unite Students, the UK's leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation. John joined Unite in 2010 and held a number of senior operational roles; he was a member of the Executive Committee and leader of the Operations Board, responsible for national operations for its portfolio of 177 properties and 76,000 customers.

Earlier in his career, John worked at one of Europe's largest retailers, Aldi Stores, shortly after they entered the UK, developing the retail platform in the highly competitive UK supermarket sector. John spent just over ten years at Aldi, including two as Managing Director.

Helen Gordon, Chief Executive of Grainger, said:

"We are delighted to welcome John to Grainger as we deliver against our well-established growth strategy as the UK's largest listed residential landlord and leader in the build-to-rent sector.  John's extensive and highly relevant experience within successful, customer-facing operational businesses will support Grainger's focus of delivering great homes and great service to our rapidly growing customer base. Our operational platform delivers significant shareholder value, and as we continue to grow our portfolio over the coming years and leverage our operations, we will enhance shareholder returns further. On behalf of the Board and all of my colleagues, I look forward to John joining Grainger for what will be an exciting time ahead for the business."

John Blanshard said:

"I'm really pleased to be joining the Grainger team at this exciting time of growth for the company and look forward to working together to maximise our potential for great customer service, leveraging Grainger's operational platform for the betterment of our customers, shareholders and all stakeholders."

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For further information:

Grainger plc

Kurt Mueller

London Office Tel: [phone]

Camarco (Grainger PR)

Ginny Pulbrook / Geoffrey Pelham-Lane

Tel: [phone]/4985

About Grainger plc

Founded in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1912, Grainger plc, a FTSE 250 business, is the UK's largest listed residential landlord and leader in the fast-growing build-to-rent sector, providing c.9,000 rental homes to 26,000 customers. We are creating thousands more rental homes by investing in 22 cities across the UK. We have a pipeline of secured build-to-rent development projects, worth a total investment of over £1bn that will create 4,311 more rental homes across the country. In addition, we are progressing with a further £1.3bn of build-to-rent opportunities through the planning and legal process, which could deliver an additional 4,639 new rental homes.

Grainger works in partnership with a large number of public sector organisations to deliver new homes to local communities, including Transport for London, the Ministry of Defence, Lewisham Borough Council and the Local Pensions Partnership.

The Grainger team is dedicated to the common purpose of Renting Homes, Enriching Lives, backed by a set of core values. Our latest properties have a range of customer benefits from professional on-site resident services teams, resident amenities including gyms, residents' lounges, roof terraces, meeting rooms and co-working space for those working from home, and superfast 250MB fibre optic broadband and WiFi included in the rent.

Grainger also takes a leading approach to sustainability, specifically Environmental and Social issues (ESG). We have an ambitious target to be net zero carbon in the operations of our buildings by 2030, to have a diverse and inclusive workforce and to make a positive social impact locally where we invest and operate.

In 2020, Grainger received several notable recognitions:

· Residential Landlord of the Year, RESI Awards

· Residential Asset Manager of the Year, RESI Awards

· PRS Deal of the Year for Connected Living London with Transport for London, RESI Awards

· Sustainability Best Practice Reporting Award - Gold, European Public Real Estate Association

· FTSE4Good constituent since 2010

· 'AA' rating by MSCI for ESG

 

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