The British Land Company PLC has announced the appointment of William Rucker as chair designate. Rucker will join the board of the commercial property company as non-executive director, chair of the board and chair of the nomination committee.

Since January 2023, Rucker has been chair of Intermediate Capital Group plc. Having been in place since October 2018, he will step down as chair and as a member of the board of Marston’s Plc, prior to taking up his role at British Land.

Rucker was most recently chair of investment bank Lazard in the UK, which he joined in 1987 from Arthur Andersen. Rucker’s experience in the real estate sector includes having previously been chair of Crest Nicholson Holdings plc (2011-2018) and Quintain Estates and Development PLC (2009-2015), where British Land’s CEO, Simon Carter, was finance director from 2015-2017.

Carter thanked Tim Score and commented, “I am very much looking forward to working with William again. He has extensive relevant experience, having chaired both public and private UK real estate businesses. His insights will be invaluable as we continue to execute our value-add strategy and look to seize growth opportunities in the portfolio and those emerging in the market.”

Rucker’s other key appointments include chair of the UK Dementia Research Institute, steward of the Jockey Club and founder director of Flint Housing association.