Palace Capital chairman Steven Owen and senior independent director Mark Davies have resigned from their roles at the company with immediate effect.
The company has appointed Christian Kappelhoff-Wulff as non-executive chairman of the board and Valentin Pierburg as non-executive director.
Kappelhoff-Wulff is the founder and the chief executive officer of Lakestreet Capital Partners AG and non-executive director of Lakestreet Trading AG, an investment group based in Switzerland.
Pierburg, who has 15 years’ experience in asset management and corporate finance, is the chairman of Lakestreet Capital Partners AG and Lakestreet Trading AG, which he co-founded with Kappelhoff-Wulff. Kappelhoff-Wulff and Pierburg will also join all of the company’s board committees.
Earlier this month, Lakestreet Capital, which has a total stake of 22.3% in Palace Capital, submitted a requisition for a general meeting at which Kappelhoff-Wulff and Pierburg would seek election to the board.
Since Palace Capital’s managed wind down strategy was announced in July 2022, the company has sold more than £160m of assets. The company only has five investment properties remaining, two of which – Broad Street Plaza, a leisure property in Halifax, and Imperial Court and House, an office asset in Leamington Spa – are under offer. The Forum office building in Exeter is currently being marketed for sale and is expected to go under offer in the coming weeks.
Owen said: “Since November 2023, the company, a main market listed REIT has operated with only two directors and has delivered on the managed wind down announced in July 2022. I would like to thank the whole team at Palace, including advisers, who have played their part in supporting the board in delivering for shareholders.”
Davies added: “Since 2022, the company has returned £64m to shareholders. There are now only five investment properties remaining, three of which are expected to be sold in the coming weeks, and the wind down of the company is very well advanced. Having consulted with shareholders, I have decided that now is the right time to step down from the board to allow me to concentrate fully on my role as CEO of PHP. I wish the company, the Palace Capital team and its shareholders the very best for the future.”
