Simon has been appointed at a critical time for the BPF, with the trade body asking members —  along with those of the Association of Real Estate Funds and the Investment Property Forum — to vote on a proposal to merge these groups.

This new organisation would be named Real Estate: UK, or RE:UK.

Simon, who has been on the board of British Land since 2018 and held his current role for five years, is succeeding president Jessica Hardman.

Jessica, who is also CEO and co-founder at Aboria Capital, has held the role since July 2024.

Simon has been on the BPF board since 2023 and his previous roles include being CFO at Logicor and finance director at Quintain.

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“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,” said Melanie Leech, CEO at the BPF.

“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.”

Simon added: “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.”