Atrato Capital, the investment adviser to Supermarket Income REIT, has appointed Justin King, the former chief executive of J Sainsbury plc, as a senior adviser.
King is recognised as one of the UK’s most successful grocery sector leaders, having led J Sainsbury plc for 10 years until 2014. Prior to that, he was part of the leadership team at Marks & Spencer plc and previously held senior roles at Asda. He, therefore, brings a wealth of experience of the grocery sector and a deep understanding of grocery property strategy.
Supermarket Income REIT, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, owns six UK supermarket assets, independently valued as at 31 December 2018 at GBP320.6 million. These assets operate both as physical supermarkets and as online fulfilment centres (for home delivery and/or click and collect) on large flexible sites near to population centres. The assets benefit from long, upward-only, RPI-linked leases, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 19 years across the portfolio and are let to large UK supermarket operators (Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons).
Ben Green, Principal at Atrato, says: “We are delighted that Justin has agreed to join us. It will be enormously valuable to have his experience, wisdom and insight at Atrato.”
Nick Hewson, Chairman of Supermarket Income REIT, adds: “Justin’s appointment complements a best-in-class supermarket property advisory team at Atrato. He will be a great addition to a strong team’”
King, says: “I look forward to joining the Atrato team and playing my part in investing in supermarket property forming a key part of the future model of UK grocery.”
King will continue to serve as Vice Chairman of Terra Firma Capital Partners and on the Public Interest Body of PwC and on the board of Marks & Spencer plc. He has previously served as a director of Staples and was a Board member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. He was also a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group.
