Landing a couple of down-to-earth appointments

This morning British Land confirmed a weekend press report that Steve Smith, head of Axa Real Estate Investment Managers, is to join the board. But BL added the news that 56-year-old Smith will be joined by 45-year old Charles Maudsley, who is giving over his job running the UK bit of LaSalle Investment Management to Simon Marrison, who has covered the continent for LaSalle since 2001.

The no-nonsense Smith and the cheery Maudsley have of course been mates for years, forming a firm bond when Maudsley worked for Smith at Axa between 1998 and 2005. So, they presumably have been hired as a pair as part of newish CEO's Chris Grigg's reconstruction of BL following the exit of board director Andrew Jones and his mates Valentine Beresford and Mark Stirling.

Smith and Maudsley will certainly bring a more down-to-earth quality to BL than the three ex-Pillar men who are all a bit posh. But the hiring of the Axa duo is not the end of the head hunt apparently. The look in the eye of a British Land director at the retirement party for JLL's hugely respected England chairman John Stephen at Claridges last night hinted at several appointments to come.