"Our industry plays a vital role in shaping places and supporting communities across the country, and makes an enormous contribution to the UK economy in creating jobs, unlocking investment and enabling innovation"
- Simon Carter - British Property Federation
Simon Carter, chief executive at British Land, has today been appointed president of the British Property Federation (BPF), succeeding Jessica Hardman, chief executive and co-founder of Aboria Capital. Hardman held the role since July 2024.
Carter (pictured), who joined the board of British Land in 2018 as chief financial officer before becoming chief executive in 2020, leads the business across a broad portfolio. This includes London mixed-use campuses, retail parks, and urban logistics schemes, along with the 53-acre Canada Water regeneration project. His earlier roles include serving as chief financial officer at Logicor and finance director at Quintain.
Having joined the BPF board in 2023, Carter will now work closely with vice president Jo Allen, chief executive of Frogmore, and Melanie Leech, chief executive of the BPF. Together, they aim to highlight the real estate sector’s role in economic growth and regeneration while strengthening engagement with policymakers to encourage long-term investment.
His appointment comes as the BPF, the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF) and the Investment Property Forum (IPF) progress towards a proposed merger. Members of the three organisations will soon be asked to vote on the creation of a unified representative body, which is now set to be named Real Estate: UK (RE:UK).
“It is a privilege to take on the role of president of the British Property Federation,” said Simon Carter, chief executive at British Land and BPF president. “Our industry plays a vital role in shaping places and supporting communities across the country, and makes an enormous contribution to the UK economy in creating jobs, unlocking investment and enabling innovation.
“Under Jessica’s leadership, the BPF has seen significant success in securing crucial policy interventions and support that will unlock investment into UK real estate. I look forward to building on that strong foundation to ensure the Government fully harnesses the power of our sector.
“I hope that our members will endorse our vision to build an even more powerful new industry body in RE:UK, and look forward to taking the baton from Jessica to oversee that transition during my presidency.”
Melanie Leech, chief executive at the BPF, commented: “This is a critical time for our industry as we work with Government to deliver the homes, workspaces and infrastructure needed to reboot the economy and drive growth.
“Simon’s extensive experience and knowledge across finance and development will be invaluable as we manage the twin challenges of helping to shape policy that will unlock investment and accelerate delivery, and, if our members agree, transitioning to a new organisation building on the strengths of the BPF, AREF and IPF,"
“I would also like to thank Jessica for her dedication and outstanding leadership over the past year as we have developed and refined our plans for a new body that will represent the full breadth of the real estate sector and amplify our voice.”
