West End lobby chief quits for new role down under
The boss of property and retail lobby group the New West End Company is leaving the organisation later this year for a new role in Australia.
Jace Tyrrell, who is Australian, has been chief executive of the business improvement district for six years. NWEC represents 600 retailers, hoteliers and property owners across Bond Street, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Mayfair.
He will head Australia’s first business improvement district, the New Sydney Waterfront Company, from October. The group is part of a pilot by Sydney’s regional government.
The boss of property and retail lobby group the New West End Company is leaving the organisation later this year for a new role in Australia.
Jace Tyrrell, who is Australian, has been chief executive of the business improvement district for six years. NWEC represents 600 retailers, hoteliers and property owners across Bond Street, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Mayfair.
He will head Australia’s first business improvement district, the New Sydney Waterfront Company, from October. The group is part of a pilot by Sydney’s regional government.
Tyrrell has overseen NWEC during a time of turbulence for Britain’s shopping Mecca, with the decline of bricks-and-mortar retail, Brexit-related uncertainty and the Covid-19 pandemic all hitting the district’s landlords and occupiers hard.
He has been an outspoken critic of the business rates system, Sunday trading hours limitations and policy decisions such as the abolition of tax-free shopping for tourists in the UK.
Tyrrell said that while he was excited to return to Australia, he would continue to campaign for more support for central London until the end of his tenure in October.
He said that despite the upheaval in recent years, the district is “set to transform into a district filled with innovative new brands, experiences and streetscapes that really cater to the modern local and global customer”.
Tyrrell added: “But, if the West End is to achieve this, the government must act now and make the necessary changes to facilitate our recovery and protect the one in eight London jobs that our area supports.
“Sunday trading and visa reform require a keen ear of the government to the needs of our valued domestic and international customers – those who want to shop longer over the weekend, with an easier route to enter British shores.”
Sir Peter Rogers, chairman of NWEC, said: “For the past six years Jace has been unwavering in his commitment to the West End, standing up not only for the needs of our district, but also for the wider British retail and leisure sectors.”
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Photo © New West End Company
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