Our Executive Team

The Executive Team is responsible for managing the business, day-to-day operational decisions and delivering the strategy set by the Board. They monitor customer and market trends, assess the implications and benefits of and approve asset management initiatives and capital expenditure and oversee talent development.

  • Lawrence Hutchings PNG FINAL CROPPED

    Lawrence Hutchings

    Chief Executive Officer

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    Lawrence Hutchings joined the Group as CEO in November 2024. He was previously CEO of Capital & Regional PLC for a period of seven years. Prior to that, he was Managing Director at Blackstone in Australia for four years, Managing Director, UK Retail at Hammerson PLC and Director (Property) European Retail at Henderson Global Investors.

    Committee Memberships:
    ESG Committee

    Current external appointments:
    Lawrence currently has no external appointments.

  • Graham Clemett BSc, ACA

    Executive Director

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    Graham Clemett joined the Board as Finance Director in July 2007 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2020. Previously he was Finance Director for UK Corporate Banking at RBS Group PLC where he worked for a period of five years. Prior to that, Graham spent eight years at Reuters Group PLC, latterly as Group Financial Controller.

  • Dave Benson

    Chief Financial Officer

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    Dave Benson joined the Group in April 2020 as Chief Financial Officer. He was previously Corporate Finance Director at Whitbread PLC. Prior to that, he held senior finance roles at Kier Group PLC and Keller Group PLC, having qualified as a chartered accountant at Deloitte.

  • Carmelina Carfora

    Company Secretary

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    Carmelina joined the Company as Company Secretary in March 2010.

    Carmelina was previously Company Secretary of Electrocomponents plc.

  • Claire Dracup

    Director of People and Culture

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    Claire joined Workspace in 1995, initially as a centre manager before progressing to Portfolio Manager. In 2008, Claire became Head of Support Services and was responsible for Facilities Management, Security, Health and Safety and business centre support which included recruitment, training and improvements to service and quality control.

    Claire was appointed Head of People in April 2020 and Director of People and Culture in June 2021.

  • Richard Swayne

    Investment Director

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    Richard joined Workspace in November 2014 as an Investment Manager. He was promoted to Head of Investment in October 2017 and Investment Director in April 2020. Prior to joining Workspace, Richard qualified as a chartered surveyor and worked for Cushman & Wakefield Investors and LFF Real Estate Partners.

  • Will Abbott

    Chief Customer Officer

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    Will joined the business on 20 April 2020, bringing a wide range of experience from over 20 years in Marketing. Having started his career in advertising, Will held a number of senior roles across digital media, FMCG, financial services and travel sectors. Prior to Workspace, Will was Marketing Director UK & Ireland at Hiscox during a significant period of growth for the insurer, and most recently was Chief Marketing Officer of Neilson Active Holidays.

  • Paul Hewlett

    Director of Strategy & Corporate Development

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    Paul Hewlett joined the Company as Director of Strategy & Corporate Development in 2021. He was previously Executive Director of the UK investment Banking Real Estate team at J.P. Morgan Cazenove. Paul has extensive Corporate Finance advisory and Corporate Broking experience, advising companies across the sector on a wide variety of transactions, notably focused on Merger & Acquisitions and Equity Capital Markets.

  • Leo Shapland

    Head of Portfolio Management

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    Leo joined Workspace in March 2022 from Aviva Investors, where he was Head of Real Estate Asset Management, responsible for the strategy and financial performance of a large diversified UK property portfolio. Prior to that, Leo spent ten years at Tishman Speyer, holding a number of roles in investment, development and asset management in the firm's London, San Francisco and Seattle offices. 

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