Real estate agent Foxtons picks Chestertons' boss Gittins as CEO

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May 30 (Reuters) – Real estate agent Foxtons (FOXT.L) on Monday named rival Chestertons’ boss Guy Gittins as its new chief executive officer, at a time when the London-based company faces pressure from activist investors to start a formal sale process.

Gittins, who succeeds Nic Budden, was appointed just weeks after Foxtons named Chris Hough as its new chief financial officer, and will join in September. Gittins started his career with Foxtons, before leaving it in 2007 to join British entrepreneur Peter de Savary as a sales executive.

His appointment comes two months after Canadian investment fund Converium Capital wrote to Foxtons’ board, urging it to sell the company. Converium has a roughly 2% stake in Foxtons.

Gittins had announced his last working day at Chestertons on Saturday in a LinkedIn post. In nearly one decade with the real estate firm, he served for four years as CEO.

Foxtons also said it made a “good start” to the new fiscal year and the financial performance so far was in line with its expectations.