Ardalan succeeds Hubbard as LXi REIT chair

Cyrus Ardalan will succeed Stephen Hubbard (pictured) as chair of LXi REIT. Hubbard will resign from the post at the long-income REIT’s AGM later this year. Hubbard said: “It has been a privilege to serve as chairman of LXi REIT since IPO, working closely with an excellent board and the outstanding investment adviser team. Much has been achieved and the company is well positioned to make further progress and continue to deliver enhanced value to shareholders.” During his time as chair, the REIT has grown to a £1.33bn company with 177 assets. Ardalan, an experienced international investment banker, is currently chair of OakNorth Bank and was previously non-executive director and chair of Citigroup Global Markets, the International Finance Facility for Immunisation and the International Capital Markets Association. For 15 years he was a vice chair at Barclays Bank. The REIT’s senior independent director, Colin Smith, is also standing down. He will be replaced by Cadogan CEO Hugh Seaborn. Ismat Levin, currently VP and group general counsel at cloud-based video outfit Synamedia, has also joined the board. Hubbard said: “They each bring a wealth of high-calibre, complementary expertise and extensive experience that will further strengthen the board and be hugely valuable to the company.” The news could bring attention back to last year’s aborted merger talks between LXi and Secure Income REIT, which investors in the two companies had hoped to see restarted. At the time, Hubbard was reported to have personally drawn a line under the discussions upon learning that he would not chair the combined company, a rumour that LXi denied. “Stephen Hubbard has been an excellent steward for LXi REIT – overseeing the company’s growth from IPO to over £1bn market cap,” said Oli Creasey, property research analyst at investor Quilter Cheviot, an investor in both Secure Income and LXi. “Our understanding is that it was the LXi board, led by the chairman, which represented the biggest hurdle in a potential tie-up between Secure income REIT and LXi over the summer of 2021, and the board effectively vetoed the proposal. Following this change of chairman and senior NED, we believe that the opportunity could be back on the table again.” However, Creasey added: “While the potential for M&A activity has increased, it is far from certain that a transaction will take place. Our understanding is that the conversations which took place in 2021 were preliminary discussions only and that there was much more work to do before an agreement that suited both parties could be reached. We note also that the updated LXi board may come to the same conclusion as before. So while the likelihood of a deal has increased, it is far from guaranteed.” Both companies declined to comment today on the possibility of fresh talks. To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews Photo from LXi REIT