Argent’s David Partridge named BPF president

David Partridge, senior partner of Argent and chairman of Argent Related, takes the presidency of the British Property Federation today. Partridge succeeds Grainger chief executive Helen Gordon, who will stand down from the post at the BPF’s 46th annual general meeting this evening. Guy Grainger, JLL’s chief executive for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, steps up from junior vice-president to become vice-president. A new junior vice-president is to be announced later. BPF chief executive Melanie Leech said: “I look forward to working with [Partridge] this year to further improve understanding among our key stakeholders of the property sector’s social value, our role in supporting the government to achieve its environmental goals and our positive impact on the quality of people’s lives across the country.” In an interview with EG ahead of his appointment, Partridge said his focus during his year as president will be the role real estate can play in the country’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – and, over the longer term, showcasing its value to society. “I don’t underestimate the importance of the next couple of months in terms of supporting everybody in the economy and all the people who are going to be out of work,” he said. “We need to do our bit to help soften the blow of that – and never lose sight of the big prize, which is to deliver the societal change which we all believe in.” The BPF has also appointed Jessica Hardman, head of UK real estate at DWS, to its board after an open advertisement to its members as part of a commitment to promoting a more diverse and inclusive industry. Melanie Leech said the federation now has “a more diverse board than at any time in the BPF’s history”. EG’s interview with David Partridge will appear in this week’s magazine, and will be online on Friday. To send feedback, e-mail tim.burke@egi.co.uk or tweet @_tim_burke or @estatesgazette