The Government Property Unit has unveiled a series of appointments ahead of next year's move to a "New Property Model" (NPM) for the central government estate.
The NPM was first outlined in the 2015 Budget, and will see ownership of the government estate centralised in April next year, with departments charged market-level rent for any freehold assets they own.
Ministers have said they want the overall size of the government estate to shrink by 75% by 2023, and the Treasury believes a more "commercially driven" approach to land and property management will make departments more likely to dispose of unnecessary land and office space, while allowing for more strategic oversight of the entire government estate.
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The GPU announced this week that Ian Playford, a real estate advisor who was brought into the Cabinet Office earlier this year, has been appointed as interim CEO of the new body which will oversee this work.
Playford – a qualified chartered surveyor – has previously served as group property director for Kingfisher, and he has also worked for developer Parkridge Holdings, insurer Aviva and property investment managers Jones Lang LaSalle. A government statement said: "Ian brings with him a wealth of experience in the field of corporate real estate and investment management."
The Cabinet Office also detailed the interim executive team set to work with Playford.
The hires include finance director Stephen Sheridan, previously a finance director at defence giant QinetiQ and student accommodation provider Liberty Living; operations director Roger Taylor, who joins from government shared services provider UK SBS; and strategy and clients director Colin Turner, formerly of consultancy firm Arcadis.
The team is currently running in "shadow" form, with the government's most recent progress update on its estate strategy saying the new central body would be fully up and running by April next year.
Last year's government-wide Spending Review saw former British Property Federation chief executive named as shadow chair to lead the setting up of the new body. The Cabinet Office said Playford would "work collaboratively" with Peace in the role.