Hotel Property Investments (ASX: HPI) has announced several changes in its board and executive team, as Charter Hall and Hostplus continue to consolidate their voting power in the business.
Due to the increased shareholding of Charter Hall and Hostplus in HPI, today several changes to the HPI board and executive team were announced.
Effective from yesterday, 6 February:
- Lachlan Edwards and Anne Michaels have resigned from the Board;
- John White has resigned as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer;
- David Harrison and Greg Paramor (AO) have joined the Board as Non-Executive Directors;
- Ben Ellis has joined as an alternate Director to Mr Paramor;
- Blair Strik, CFO and Company Secretary, will resume in the role of acting Chief Executive Officer.
Of the outgoing board members and management team, Edwards had been on the board since HPI first listed on the ASX in November 2013. He most recently chaired the Responsible Entity Compliance Committee, the Human Resources and Nominations Committee and the Board Audit and Risk Committee.
Michaels joined the Board in November 2022 as a non-executive director and brought a strategic lens to property development opportunities. Michaels was a member of the Human Resources and Nominations Committee and the Board Audit and Risk Committee.
White was appointed MD and CEO of HPI in September 2024, introducing a new strategic focus at the AGM in November 2024.
“Lachlan, Anne and John have demonstrated passion and dedication to HPI. I’d like to thank them for their contributions and wish them all the best for their future endeavours,” stated HPI’s Chair Giselle Collins.
Incoming Charter Hall representation
The new board members include Harrison, Charter Hall’s MD and Group CEO, with over 30 years of property market experience across office, retail and industrial sectors in multiple markets globally.
Paramor is a non-executive director of the Charter Hall Group and has been in the real estate and funds management industry for more than 40 years. He was the co-founder of Equity Real Estate Partners, Growth Equities Mutual, Paladin Australia and the James Fielding Group. He was also the CEO of Mirvac Group from 2004-2008.
Harrison and Paramor both join the HPI Board as Non-Executive Directors.
Ellis – who joins the HPI Board as an alternate director to Paramor – has more than 25 years’ experience in the property market and is currently fund manager of the Charter Hall Retail REIT, and is Charter Hall’s Retail CEO.
The board and executive team comes after months of Charter Hall growing its shareholding in HPI, after having its original takeover offer rejected. By early January Charter Hall and Hostplus had amassed more than a 50 per cent shareholding in the business, and the HPI board changed its recommendation to accept the offer.
As of 3 February, Charter Hall and Hostplus had amassed a 76.75 per cent shareholding in HPI.
The HPI portfolio comprises the freeholds of 59 pub assets, and was valued at $1.28 billion as at 30 June 2024. HPI’s major tenant is Australian Venue Co.