PPHE Hotel Group appoints Non-Executive Director

21 February 2020

PPHE Hotel Group has appointed Nigel Keen as an independent non-executive director of the Company with immediate effect. Keen will sit on the Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committee.

A qualified Chartered Surveyor, with over 35 years of property expertise from site acquisition through to asset management, Keen headed-up the property teams at leading blue chip companies Tesco and The John Lewis Partnership. Keen started his career at Tesco where he oversaw the supermarket's rapid expansion in the 1990's, rising to the position of Construction Director.

Following ten years at Tesco, Keen joined The John Lewis Partnership in 1999 as Property Director. During his 18 year tenure he built-out an in-house property team and established the infrastructure that enabled both the Waitrose and John Lewis brands to rollout across the UK. Appointed to the Waitrose Board in 2003, which he served on for 15 years, Keen was a key member of the Board that grew sales from £1.5bn to £7bn, overseeing a more than doubling of the store estate.

The appointment of Nigel, as well as Kenneth Bradley in September 2019, forms part of a wider commitment by the Company following last year's Annual General Meeting and ongoing shareholder engagement, to strengthen corporate governance and the Board with fresh independent talent. Following Nigel's appointment, the Board now includes four independent non-executive directors. Nigel Jones will step down at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting at which time the Board will include three independent non-executive directors.

Eli Papouchado, Chairman of PPHE said: "I am delighted to welcome Nigel to the Board of PPHE. Nigel brings a wealth of property experience from leading blue chip companies, which will be invaluable as we continue to expand our property capability and build out our development pipeline of over £300m. As a highly experienced FTSE 250 non-executive director, Nigel's appointment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to further strengthen the corporate governance of the Company for the benefit of all stakeholders."