British Land adds two directors but stays silent on Ritblat

British Land, Britain's second-biggest property company, moved to quell investor concern over its boardroom structure yesterday when it appointed two new non-executive directors but said nothing about the future of long-term chairman and chief executive John Ritblat.

The two new directors are David Michels, the chief executive of Hilton and Christopher Gibson-Smith, the chairman of National Air Traffic Services. Both will join the board on 1 January.

However, investor groups criticised the changes, which shed no further light on when Mr Ritblat will split his combined roles. Stuart Bell of Pirc, the pensions research group, said: "They still don't have a majority of independent non-executive directors. We want them to clarify when the roles of chairman and chief executive will be divided."

Helen Driver of Standard Life Investments, which owns 1.5 per cent of British Land shares, added: "It's a step in the right direction. I personally don't think it is going to be resolved in the very near future. It's 18 months plus."

Stuart Fraser, an analyst at Brewin Dolphin, said. "At the end of the day, I don't think that he's actually going to stand down. The company has always taken the view that if you don't like Ritblat, you don't buy British Land."

Mr Ritblat made a surprise announcement last summer that the company would move to separate the two roles but gave no timetable. Graham Roberts, the company's finance director, refused to say any more as the company reported its full-year results yesterday. "The process is in place," he said. "I think we have been fulsome in our communication."