A new chair has been appointed at leading Hull property development firm Wykeland Group.
Paul Millington, an industry heavyweight who has held board positions with Leeds-headquartered Evans Property Group for more than a quarter of a century, takes on the non-executive role. He succeeds former William Jackson Food Group chair Christopher Oughtred, who has served for the past 14 years.
It comes as the business delivers a series of developments across the region, described as some of the “biggest and most ambitious” in its 50-plus year history. These include a £150 million retail logistics fulfilment centre, for which Wykeland secured planning approval, and a £100 million research, development and manufacturing facility for global medical technology business Smith & Nephew, which is going through consenting. Both of these developments are at Wykeland’s Melton West Business Park, west of Hull.
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The appointment comes as Richard Dawson also joins as non-executive director, bringing a strong financial, commercial and strategic background to the firm.
Wykeland managing director Dominic Gibbons said: “We’re delighted that two such highly-respected property industry leaders have joined our board. Paul and Richard are well-known figures on the North of England property scene and bring to the board decades of high-level experience which will support our next phase of growth. Their expertise will reinforce our excellent executive team and will be important as we deliver existing developments and capitalise upon the many exciting new opportunities we have identified.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Christopher and Neil for their exceptional service, helping the business through the period from the passing of our founder Jack Brignall through the tremendous growth of the past decade. I’m delighted we have been able to secure excellent replacements for these key roles.”
Evans Property Group is one of the UK’s leading privately-owned property investment and development companies, with net assets of over £600 million.
Mr Millington’s roles have included group finance director, overseas investment director and executive director responsible for overseeing the growth of the Dakota Hotels business. He has represented Evans Property Group on the boards of several joint ventures, including with LendLease, Land Securities Plc, Harworth Group Plc, Kelda Group, CALA Homes, the University of York and the Kodak Pension Fund. He also acted as an advisor to the Evans Family Trust and sat on the Evans Family Council.
His career has seen him clock up around £3 billion of transactions, including acquisitions, commercial and residential property developments, joint ventures and private equity investments.
He said: “ I’m delighted to be joining one of the region’s leading property developers. Wykeland is a fantastic business, underpinned by strong core values, and its engagement with community stakeholders has enabled it to consistently deliver first-class developments. I’m really looking forward to working with Dominic and the executive team and to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”
Mr Dawson qualified as a chartered accountant in 1994 and went on to work for Baker Tilly, Equifax and GE Capital. In 2001 he became finance director of Highstone Group and then head of the family office for the Moore Family in 2007. This position included a key role in the growth of Wilton Developments, the Leeds-based property development business.
He said: “I’m very excited to be joining Wykeland to assist with the next stage of the company’s growth and I’m looking forward to working with Paul, Dominic and the Wykeland team. Wykeland Group has an outstanding reputation for delivering high-quality projects and combining excellent financial results with a strong ethical code and values. With a healthy balance sheet and an enviable development pipeline, Wykeland is in a great position to build for the future.’’
He replaces Neil Stothard, chief executive of construction products and services specialist VP Plc, who served for 12 years.
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