Land Securities appoints Grainger's Vanessa Simms as next CFO

Land Securities has appointed Vanessa Simms as its next chief financial officer.

Simms, who is currently CFO at Grainger, has held a number of senior positions at other UK property companies, including deputy CFO at Unite Group and UK finance director at Segro. Land Securities said she more than 20 years of experience in finance and extensive knowledge of UK real estate.

She is expected to join the business and become an executive director no later than 1 June 2021. She will succeed Martin Greenslade, who informed the board in September that he was planning to step down next year.

Chief executive Mark Allan said: "I am delighted that Vanessa is to join Landsec as our next CFO, building on the strong foundations established by Martin. She brings a valuable combination of expertise and experience and I have been particularly impressed by the role she has played in helping to deliver strategic change and business transformation at Grainger in recent years."

LandSec said a further announcement will be made in due course to confirm Greenslade's leaving date.