What we do
Every day, our 50-strong team bring bold and fresh thinking to help unlock our places’ potential and shape meaningful experiences for everyone.
Our ‘think different’ ethos means we can deliver market leading returns for our investors and create exceptional value for our customers, whether they live, work, study or visit our places.
Asset management
Placemaking
Sustainability
Risk management
Capital allocation
Investment
Asset management
Placemaking
Sustainability
Risk management
Capital allocation
Investment
Asset management
Placemaking
Sustainability
Risk management
Capital allocation
Investment
Leo
Shapland
CEO
Leo is CEO of The King’s Cross Group, a position he has held since April 2025. Leo joined The King’s Cross Group from Workspace Group where he was Executive Director and Head of Portfolio Management, responsible for a multibillion-pound property portfolio across London and the South East.
Prior to this, he was Head of UK Real Estate Asset Management at Aviva Investors, responsible for financial performance and strategy of the UK portfolio and real estate business. Leo also spent almost a decade at Tishman Speyer working in a number of roles in asset management, development, joint ventures and investment in the firm’s San Francisco and London offices. He set up its Seattle office in 2016 where he spent three years as Head of Office, before moving back to the UK.
Ross
McCall
Chief Operating Officer
Ross McCall is the Chief Operating Officer of The King’s Cross Group and a director of its subsidiary companies.
Ross previously held roles at Aberdeen (formerly Standard Life Investments) in the Real Assets team and the wider Investments business, where he was Head of Strategy Execution. During his time at the business, he worked out of Edinburgh, London and Singapore.
Ross started his career in the legal profession and holds an LLB in Law (with Honours Law) from the Edinburgh University Law School. He also achieved a Master of Business Administration (with Distinction) from the Edinburgh University Business School.
Ross is a member of the King’s Cross Academy Trust and is an Associate Governor sitting on the Finance and Audit Committee. He is also a Director of Urban Partners, a voluntary business partnership for King's Cross, St Pancras and Euston.
Liz
Mulkerrin
People Director
Liz Mulkerrin is People Director for The King’s Cross Group.
She has over 25 years’ experience working in strategic HR roles across the media, broadcasting, sports and travel sectors, having previously held roles within Sky Sports, Sky News, Harlequins and the Palatinate Group.
Outside of work, Liz is a Non-Executive Director for Commonwealth Games England, supporting the team as they head into the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and the Centenary Games in 2030. She is also a School Governor of the King’s Cross Academy which is based on the King’s Cross estate.
David
Scudder
Company Secretary
David is Company Secretary of The King’s Cross Group.
He works closely with the Board to ensure meetings are held in accordance with the relevant constitutional documents and are documented and circulated accordingly. He also maintains the governance structures of the Group.
Over his almost four-decade career, David has had several Company Secretary roles, most recently for Argent (Property Development) Services LLP, the developer and asset manager of the King’s Cross estate. He worked at Argent for five years before transferring to The King’s Cross Group in March 2024, becoming its second employee.
David qualified as a Chartered Secretary in 1993, now known as a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute.
Xavier
Walker
Digital, Data & Technology Director
Xavier Walker is Digital, Data & Technology Director of The King’s Cross Group, where he oversees the full spectrum of technology strategy and delivery across the organisation and its property portfolio.
With over 25 years’ experience leading digital and technology functions, Xavier has held senior roles at several blue-chip firms, including CIO positions at Westfield and British Land and as Chief Information & Digital Officer at Hilton Hotels across EMEA. His career spans multiple sectors, from retail and hospitality to real estate and venture capital, where he has also worked as an independent consultant, advising on digital transformation and innovation.
Martin
MacQuarrie
Finance Director
Martin is Finance Director of The King’s Cross Group.
Martin joined from Related Argent Limited, the developer and former asset manager of the King’s Cross estate, where he was Finance Director for King’s Cross and spent six years in senior finance leadership roles.
Prior to this, Martin held finance roles at M&G Real Estate with oversight of its retail & institutional property funds, and at Colliers International.
Martin is a Chartered Accountant and holds a degree in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge. He is also a School Governor of the King’s Cross Academy and is Chair of its Finance Committee.
Stephen
Hubbard
Non-Executive Chairman
Stephen spent 43 years at CBRE, culminating in his role as Chairman of the UK business. Prior to this, he held several senior management roles at the firm in both the UK and EMEA, mostly in Capital Markets.
Prior to retiring from CBRE in 2019, Stephen was appointed to the Board of Workspace Group in 2014 as Non-Executive Director. He spent the last three of his nine-year tenure as Chairman of the Board.
Stephen is now Chairman of The King’s Cross Group, the owner and asset manager of the 67-acre King’s Cross estate. He also holds positions as Advisor to the Board at Bywater Properties and Board Advisor at 3RE Capital Ventures and is a Non-Executive Director in AustralianSuper’s advisory team, sitting on the Board of its Canada Water joint venture with British Land.
Carl
Astorri
Non-Executive Director
Carl has 30 years’ experience as a multi-asset investor, strategist and economist. He is currently Head of Investments, Europe, at pension fund, AustralianSuper, where he has worked since 2015.
Between July 2018 and December 2024, Carl was on the board of ISPT, one of Australia’s largest property fund management companies. He was also a member of the corporate strategy subcommittee of the board.
Prior to joining AustralianSuper, Carl was Global Head of Economics and Asset Strategy at Coutts & Co and Head of Investment Strategy at Barclays Wealth. He also worked as an economist at Friends Provident Asset Management and the Bank of England.
Carl has a master’s degree in economics and finance from Bristol University and an undergraduate degree in economics from Bath University.
Jane
Bednall
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration, People & Culture Committee
Jane has spent more than 30 years in senior leadership positions with FTSE 35 companies. This includes almost 20 years in the travel and hospitality sector in global commercial, customer, marketing and digital transformation roles with British Airways and InterContinental Hotels Group.
Jane also spent over twelve years in the energy sector, with the UK’s two largest providers, Centrica and then Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), where she was MD of the UK Retail Energy Business and latterly Group Chief Marketing Officer.
As part of her non-executive portfolio, Jane is an Independent Non-Executive Director at Fuller’s and has held previous NED roles with Smart Energy GB, EI Group Plc and DFS Furniture Plc.
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Paul
Clark
Non-Executive Director
Paul has been working in real estate investment, management and development for almost 40 years. His executive career included senior roles at AustralianSuper, The Crown Estate and the Church Commissioners.
During his career, Paul has devised and led the creation of major partnerships with significant blue chip investors both in central London and around the UK, as well as overseeing major mixed-use developments. Paul has also held various non-executive positions on unlisted vehicles and continues to contribute more widely to the real estate sector.
Nick
Deacon
Non-Executive Director
Nick Deacon is Head of Offices, Europe for Nuveen Real Estate, a role he has held since January 2019. Here, he co-ordinates the firm’s specialist teams across the pan-European network and is heavily involved in managing mandates for Alberta Investment Management Corporation, Madison International Realty, PFA and AustralianSuper.
Prior to this, he was Director of Central London Offices and Head of European Offices at TH Real Estate (2014-2018), and Director of Central London Offices at Henderson Global Investors (2004-2014).
Nick graduated with a BA with Honours in Business Management and Finance from the University of East Anglia and an MSc in Land Management from the University of Reading. He is also a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Will
Gibby
Non-Executive Director
Will is the Residential and International Fund Management Director at Federated Hermes. He is responsible for a BTPS global residential mandate and the BTPS real estate portfolio outside the UK.
He joined in September 2006 as an Investment Manager for the UK Commercial Real Estate portfolio and became Director for Global Residential and International Real Estate in 2019.
Will has significant experience of investing in global real estate debt and equity investments and was responsible for establishing the Hestia UK residential platform. Prior to joining, Will was an Investment Manager for M&G Real Estate and managed a UK portfolio of c.£350 million. He has an MSc in Land Management from the Henley Business School (prev. Reading University) and is a long-standing member of the AFIRE Board of Directors.
Julie
Hirigoyen
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Committee
Julie has 25 years’ experience in property and construction across private, public and third sector roles. She is currently a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Willmott Dixon Holdings and Thriving Investments, as well as The King’s Cross Group, and a Senior Advisor to both Systemiq and CBRE.
Julie was previously CEO of UK Green Building Council which, under her tenure, transformed in scale and profile to become the building industry’s leading voice on sustainability. Before this, Julie was UK Head of Sustainability at JLL following its acquisition of Upstream, a strategic sustainability consulting practice that Julie co-founded in the late 1990s.
Leo
Shapland
CEO
Leo is CEO of The King’s Cross Group, a position he has held since April 2025. Leo joined The King’s Cross Group from Workspace Group where he was Executive Director and Head of Portfolio Management, responsible for a multibillion-pound property portfolio across London and the South East.
Prior to this, he was Head of UK Real Estate Asset Management at Aviva Investors, responsible for financial performance and strategy of the UK portfolio and real estate business. Leo also spent almost a decade at Tishman Speyer working in a number of roles in asset management, development, joint ventures and investment in the firm’s San Francisco and London offices. He set up its Seattle office in 2016 where he spent three years as Head of Office, before moving back to the UK.
Chris
Taylor
Non-Executive Director
Chris is CEO of Federated Hermes Real Estate and Head of Private Markets at Federated Hermes, where he has worked since 2010. Prior to this, Chris was Head of European Property at HSBC.
Chris spent the majority of his career as a Fund Manager at Prudential, where he led the diversification of its UK real estate exposure into overseas markets in 2001.
Under his leadership, Federated Hermes Real Estate has led a number of landmark real estate transactions, including the largest regeneration project in Europe at King’s Cross.
Chris is a Fellow of the RICS, a Founding Board Member of INREV and a past President of the British Property Federation. Chris holds a BSc (Hons) in Land Management from Reading University.
Caroline
Wehrle
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee
Caroline has spent more than 30 years’ working in risk management, audit, internal controls, compliance, ethics and integrity, finance and pensions.
She started her career in the engineering sector providing risk management services to public and private sector clients in Asia and the UK, largely in the rail industry. After completing an MBA, Caroline moved to Diageo plc where she undertook a variety of international audit, finance and risk management roles, including establishing an integrated global risk, internal control and compliance and ethics function.
Caroline is currently a Non-Executive Director of NHS Property Services Ltd, where she is Chair of both the Audit & Risk committee and the People & Culture committee, and is an independent member of the Audit & Risk committee at the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation focused on health research.
