(In paragraph 4, corrects “Chestertons’ appointment” to “Gittins’ appointment”)
(Reuters) – London-based real estate agent Foxtons Group has decided to appoint rival Chestertons’ CEO Guy Gittins as its new CEO, Sky News reported on Sunday.
Gittins will take over from Nic Budden in the face of rising pressure from activist shareholders to sell the company, the newspaper reported https://news.sky.com/story/foxtons-gazumps-london-rival-chestertons-with-raid-on-ceo-gittins-12623917.
In March 2022, Converium Capital, a Montreal-based investment fund that has about a 2% stake in Foxtons, had sent a letter to the board urging it to begin a formal sale process.
Gittins’ appointment is the second big move in the company’s top-level management this year after CFO Chris Hough succeeded Richard Harris in April.
Gittins announced his last working day at Chestertons on Saturday in a LinkedIn post https://www.linkedin.com/posts/guygittins_teamchestertons-activity-6936663918152986624-PTvj?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web. He had been at the company for about a decade, including fours years as CEO.
Foxtons and Chestertons did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment outside of business hours.
(Reporting by Rachna Dhanrajani in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)