The Secretary of State for Transport wishes to appoint a chair for LCR. The responsibilities are expected to evolve over two distinct phases:
- First, to chair LCR and drive organisational transition and set the culture in the new property development company within the Network Rail Group.
- Second, once established, chairing the new property development company and becoming a non-executive director (NED) of the Network Rail board.
We are working to bring together the capability and skills built up by LCR with those within Network Rail’s property development team to create a new ring-fenced, dedicated residential and commercial property development company focused on maximising the benefits generated from the development of railway and railway-adjacent land.
This will identify, de-risk and bring to market development opportunities that might otherwise not exist; leveraging private sector investment with minimum public sector intervention to unlock a step-change in financial and wider public sector benefits.
The new property development company is progressing through final government approvals. It will be a subsidiary of Network Rail, and then GBR once it is established. It will be led by the independent non-executive chair and board.
- Work with the new board and CEO to ensure the desired culture is established;
- Work collaboratively to build new governance arrangements, reflecting both Network Rail and the Department’s expectations whilst maintaining the intended independence of the company and its board;
- Build and maintain relationships with Network Rail at board level; and
- Support and coach the CEO and leadership team as they effect the newly merged organisation.
In addition, it is expected that the chair of the property development company would sit on the Network Rail board as a NED in an ex-officio capacity. In this role you would have regard to both their duties as a NED of the Network Rail board and non-executive chair of the property development company.
As a NED on the Network Rail board, you will provide independent and objective advice on the running of Network Rail, bringing external expertise and views on governance, and best boardroom practice. Providing independent counsel to the Network Rail Chair and Chief Executive, you will give original input and contribution to Board meetings while constructively challenging conventional processes and procedures. Any strategies, plans and concepts shared by you will be centred around core strategic business objectives and focus on a commitment to operational safety.
Through the chair of the new property development company sitting on the board of Network Rail you will strive to ensure alignment between Network Rail, its regional businesses and the company. You will also bring the knowledge to promote progress of ambitious, creative and complex property development projects in a public sector context. The identification and realisation of these benefits is at the heart of both the chair and NED roles.
LCR is a Companies Act company currently owned wholly by the Department for Transport (DfT), classified as a public corporation. The objectives of the Secretary of State for LCR are to maximise value realised from LCR’s assets at the earliest opportunity for the taxpayer, and for LCR to support the delivery of government objectives on the creation of homes, jobs and economic growth around railway and broader transport assets.
LCR takes on the most challenging sites, establishing a long-term vision that enables the creation of great places for the benefit of society. It transforms underused public sector real estate assets, particularly around railway stations and key transport hubs, into exciting new destinations for people to live, work and experience, through a creative and imaginative approach to generating public value through placemaking-led regeneration.
LCR’s unique position on the cusp of the public, private, rail and real estate sectors enables it to act as a guiding mind, identifying areas of land with high potential for regeneration, and championing ways of working that unite the skills and expertise of these sectors. Recent successes include the development of Kings Cross, Stratford and Mayfield in Manchester.
LCR also manages several property interests on behalf of the Department. It takes a long-term view, with hands-on stewardship and ongoing investment to ensure these places continue to meet the needs of occupiers and add value to the local area. This asset management currently includes sites such as the Sidings at London Waterloo and nearby Leake Street.
The model for the LCR board is analogous to that of a commercial organisation with a board possessing a majority of independent NEDs with a single shareholder. LCR operates ‘best practice’ standards of corporate governance appropriate to a listed public company, where relevant to a private company and to a company whose accounts are consolidated to the government at the whole of government accounts level.
The board has responsibility for ensuring that LCR complies with any statutory or administrative requirements for the use of public funds, and for ensuring that high standards of corporate governance are observed at all times.
The board has constituted the following sub-committees of the main board, each of which is chaired by a NED:
• Audit and Risk Committee;
• Remuneration Committee; and
The board meets every two months with the above sub-committees also being held a week before the board meeting as and when appropriate.
Thank you for your interest in this role at an exciting point in the organisation’s journey.
This is an important time for the Department for Transport. We are driving forward rail reform delivering on our commitment to establish a new arm’s length public body - Great British Railways (GBR) – as soon as possible. GBR will be a directing mind in charge of Britain’s railway infrastructure and services, subsuming the role of Network Rail. It will integrate our transport networks and improve our infrastructure to work for the whole country, including development of rail linked land to build the houses and infrastructure needed to tackle regional inequalities.
We are recruiting for a Chair to lead our team on the Board of London and Continental Railways (LCR). LCR has driven some of the most outstanding recent examples of development and regeneration projects in the UK, such as Kings Cross Central, Stratford City, and the ongoing work at Manchester Mayfield, all using transport-linked land.
To capitalise on this exceptional track record, government intends to merge LCR’s capabilities with those in Network Rail’s property development team to form a new property development company that will sit within the broader Network Rail Group, and then GBR once it is established. This combination is intended to enable access to even greater opportunities to drive economic growth and public value, building houses across the country, working with private and public sector stakeholders helping the government make the most of its assets for taxpayers, citizens and passengers alike.
We are seeking an exceptional leader to guide LCR into a critical new phase of its history and become the first chair of the newly merged development company. You will play a vital role to shape the future direction of the new organisation, bringing your knowledge and experience of delivering ambitious, large-scale regeneration and development projects.
We strongly welcome applications from all backgrounds. As part of the Department’s commitment to diversity, we believe our public appointments should reflect our customers - the travelling public – who come from all walks of life and have different experiences. We very much welcome fresh talent, expertise, and perspectives, to help us better understand the needs of the communities we serve and support better decision making for all. This includes people who may have never applied for a public appointment – but could bring new ideas, insights, and energy.
If you are interested in the role and work of LCR, I would like to encourage you to apply. Our dedicated DfT Public Appointments Team would be happy to talk through the process and answer your questions.
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill CBE
Minister of State for Rail
The key responsibilities of the LCR Chair are to:
- Provide leadership to, and ensure high performance of the board;
- Act as the company’s leading representative, including in respect of presenting the company’s aims and objectives to, and communicating effectively with, the shareholder and other key stakeholders;
- Chair the meetings of the board effectively to ensure robust and timely decision making, performance oversight and issue resolution by drawing on the expertise of all board members; and
- Take the lead on determining the structure and composition of the board to ensure it has the skills required to fulfil its critical role, making recommendations to the shareholder.
LCR takes on the most challenging sites, establishing a long-term vision that enables the creation of great places for the benefit of society. It transforms underused public sector real estate assets, particularly around railway stations and key transport hubs, into exciting new destinations for people to live, work and experience, through a creative and imaginative approach to generating public value through placemaking-led regeneration.
LCR’s unique position on the cusp of the public, private, rail and real estate sectors enables it to act as a guiding mind, identifying areas of land with high potential for regeneration, and championing ways of working that unite the skills and expertise of these sectors. Recent successes include the development of Kings Cross, Stratford and Mayfield in Manchester.
LCR also manages several property interests on behalf of the Department. It takes a long-term view, with hands-on stewardship and ongoing investment to ensure these places continue to meet the needs of occupiers and add value to the local area. This asset management currently includes sites such as the Sidings at London Waterloo and nearby Leake Street.
The model for the LCR board is analogous to that of a commercial organisation with a board possessing a majority of independent NEDs with a single shareholder. LCR operates ‘best practice’ standards of corporate governance appropriate to a listed public company, where relevant to a private company and to a company whose accounts are consolidated to the government at the whole of government accounts level.
The board has responsibility for ensuring that LCR complies with any statutory or administrative requirements for the use of public funds, and for ensuring that high standards of corporate governance are observed at all times.
The board has constituted the following sub-committees of the main board, each of which is chaired by a NED:
• Audit and Risk Committee;
• Remuneration Committee; and
This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the
Commissioner’s website 