Crown Estate Names New Chairman

The Crown Estate has appointed Robin Budenberg as its Chairman with immediate effect, following the retirement of Sir Stuart Hampson.

Budenberg is currently London Chairman of Centerview Partners and a Non-Executive Director for Charity Bank Ltd and the Big Society Trust. He is the former Chairman and Chief Executive of UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI), whose responsibilities include managing the Government’s shareholdings in The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and Lloyds Banking Group plc.

The Crown Estate manages a £12bn portfolio of assets, focusing on four core sectors: central London; prime retail and leisure assets; rural and strategic land; and as manager of the UK seabed, offshore wind.

Established by an Act of Parliament, it returns all its profit to Treasury, totalling £304.1m last year and £2.4bn over the last ten years.

Robin Budenberg said: “I am honoured to take up the position of Chair at The Crown Estate. It is a business which sees the big picture and takes a long term approach to how it creates value to drive strong returns to the public finances. I very much look forward to working with the Board, Alison Nimmo, and her talented team to ensure it remains an outstanding UK success story.”

Prior to joining UKFI, Budenberg was at UBS (previously SG Warburg), where he was responsible for senior UK client relationships and worked on a number of significant transactions involving the Government. In 2015, he was appointed CBE for services to the taxpayer and the economy.