Market sources are reporting a period of sweeping change in the senior ranks of listed real estate groups, with departures from Charter Hall, The GPT Group and Lendlease ahead of Christmas.
The GPT Group has hired Charter Hall’s head of investor relations, Philip Cheetham.
It comes as GPT’s head of investor relations and corporate affairs, Penny Berger, departs.
Mr Cheetham is a former real estate investment trust analyst at Citi and, prior to that, he worked as a fund manager at Colonial First State Global Asset Management.
His departure from Charter Hall comes after nine years working at the David Harrison-led business and he will take up the role overseeing The GPT Group’s investor relations duties for the company’s listed business and wholesale funds.
Mr Cheetham has been hired by his former colleague, Russell Proutt, who was appointed The GPT Group’s chief executive and managing director last year.
Mr Proutt was previously Charter Hall’s chief financial officer and a former Brookfield Asset Management director, and sources say that the change at GPT comes as part of a new regime under his leadership.
Meanwhile, Lendlease executive general manager finance, investment management Toby Barnes has also left, say sources.
DataRoom reported in May that the Lendlease Australia head of construction David Paterson had resigned to join Built, as the group announced thousands of job cuts amid a sweeping restructure and a retreat from international markets in development and construction.
Also said to be in a period of reshaping the business with job cuts involved is The GPT Group, with the group’s development and finance teams impacted.
Meanwhile, in other changes involving REIT executives, UBS head of real estate sales and execution Tim Leahy is understood to have left UBS to join rival firm Jarden Australia.
At Jarden, he will work as a Director in Equities focused on REITs.
Charter Hall has also let go of staff in the office development team in the past year, say sources.
The Australian REIT sector has faced headwinds with higher interest rates drawing investors into other sectors like private credit, and bigger debt costs hurting performance.
As well, groups are trimming development teams thanks to weaker economic conditions whereby corporates are hesitant to expand their workforces, leaving the office markets currently oversupplied, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney.
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