British Land gets bogged down

BRITISH Land is still searching for a chief executive to replace its 69-year-old head John Ritblat, 16 months after telling shareholders he would split up his dual roles of chairman and chief executive.

First choice Philip Yea spurned British Land in May for a top slot at venture capitalist 3i but Ritblat told today's AGM: 'The search is progressing well, and the board will make an announcement as soon as the process is complete.'

Ritblat promised shareholders in March last year that he would have split his two roles by today's meeting, leaving him as chairman but without specifying for how long. That decision followed a year-long battle with activist shareholders about his future with the firm he founded.

Shareholders were today set to vote on the company's remuneration policy, under which Ritblat was paid £1.3m last year in salary, bonus and benefits. He got 225,000 shares, worth £1.64m at today's price, under the company's incentive plan.

Ritblat today held out the prospect of more acquisitions to come as he confirmed that the company was raising £710m in extra unsecured borrowing, bringing the total unsecured amount to £1.2bn.