Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to footer
The Crown Estate logo

The Crown Estate reshapes property teams to strengthen delivery of its strategy across the country

The Crown Estate
  • Hannah Milne to take on the new role of Managing Director for Real Estate 

  • Kristy Lansdown to take on the new role of Managing Director for Development 

The Crown Estate has announced today that Hannah Milne (currently Managing Director of Regional at The Crown Estate) has been appointed Managing Director for Real Estate, and Kristy Lansdown (currently Head of Development at The Crown Estate) has been appointed Managing Director for Development, taking up their new positions in November 2024. 

The Crown Estate is an independent commercial business set up to act in the long-term national interest. Its diverse £16 billion portfolio includes land, property and seabed across the country. It is focused on supporting the UK’s transition to a decarbonised, energy secure future, nature recovery, inclusive communities and economic growth and generating a strong financial return to the nation’s finances. This has totalled over £4 billion in the last ten years. 

The new roles will bolster The Crown Estate’s capabilities to deliver on these ambitions through its urban holdings. They form part of a move to bring together The Crown Estate’s London and Regional teams into one new Urban Strategic Business Unit which will comprise two business areas focusing on: 

  • Real Estate: A centre of excellence for actively managing workplace, residential and lifestyle properties, delivering vibrant places and innovative, sustainable solutions for The Crown Estate’s customers that reflect and exceed their expectations. 

  • Development: Delivering the most ambitious development pipeline in The Crown Estate’s history, leading the way in demonstrating how development up and down the country can deliver huge social, environmental and economic benefits for the UK.  

Hannah Milne, Managing Director, Regional, at The Crown Estate, said: “Combining our real estate  portfolio management expertise allows us to be more focused than ever before on providing innovative solutions to create thriving, vibrant spaces which respond to the needs of our customers and communities, and which have sustainability at their heart. I am looking forward to building deeper relationships with our customers and actively driving value for all those who use our spaces.” 

Kristy Lansdown, Head of Development at The Crown Estate, said: “I am hugely excited by the opportunity this new role presents. Bringing our development expertise together under one banner gives us the firepower to deliver an ambitious development pipeline that can bring transformational change right across the country. I look forward to working with the team to kick-start a new decade of sustainable development which delivers value to the environment, communities, nature and the economy.” 

Simon Harding-Roots steps down from Crown Estate role 

The Crown Estate has also announced today that Simon Harding-Roots, Managing Director for London at The Crown Estate, has taken the personal decision to step down at the end of November 2024 to pursue his next career challenge.   

Since joining The Crown Estate to lead the London business, Simon has helped The Crown Estate play its part in ensuring the Capital remains a leading global city, particularly in the aftermath of the global pandemic. He leaves the business having embedded a vision and strategy for the next decade; to ensure that it will be a greener, safer, more vibrant and inclusive city for many years to come.  

Dan Labbad, Chief Executive Officer of The Crown Estate, said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Hannah and Kristy to these new roles, which puts us in a strong position to focus our efforts on delivering the next ambitious phase of our urban property strategy, for the benefit of the country.   

“I offer my sincere thanks to Simon Harding-Roots for everything that he has achieved to support The Crown Estate over the last few years – particularly his leadership that has ensured we’re playing our part to deliver a more welcoming, thriving and inclusive  London that remains one of the leading cities worldwide.”