Real estate business Hammerson has today confirmed the arrival of Martin Plocica as its new Retail Portfolio Director.
In his new position, the former Simon Property Group senior manager will take responsibility for a number of his new company‘s major shopping centres including Birmingham‘s Bullring, Aberdeen‘s Union Square and Silverburn in Glasgow.
He will also look after Highcross in Leicester and Croydon‘s Centrale shopping centre, as he aims to grow the value of Hammerson‘s assets through development and value-add initiatives.
In November, Hammerson reported that year-on-year footfall and sales at its UK shopping centres was down 1.9 per cent and 3.8 per cent drop respectively for the three months ending September 30th 2011.
Although it admitted at the time that it had been impacted by the tough economic climate, the real estate company said it was confident of meeting strategic objectives and maximising income growth in the following months.
Commenting today, Plocica said: “Hammerson has fantastic centres and a strong track record in delivering and managing great schemes.
“I‘m looking forward to growing the reputation of the retail assets both regionally and nationally and maintaining their standing in the UK as the best places for retailers to deliver strong sales.”
The new recruit brings international retail experience to the role having worked at US-based Simon for the past 25 years.
His most recent role with the company was to focus on joint venture opportunities in international markets such as China and India.
Lawrence Hutchings, Hammerson‘s Managing Director for UK Retail, said: “Retailing is increasingly a global business. There is much we can learn from other markets from retailer contacts and relationships to new and innovative approaches to management, leasing, operations and development.
“We are conscious that we are increasingly being benchmarked in capital markets against our global peer group. Marty‘s appointment reinforces our commitment to being a world class owner, manager and developer of retail destinations.”
