The decision to appoint Myners was made by a two-man nominationscommittee which included Stuart Rose, chief executive of Marks andSpencer and a non-executive director of the property group. Theeuro 365,371 ($460,034) a year appointment comes at a point whenLand Securities is set to convert into a REIT on Jan. 1.

Myners, 58, will join the board on Sept. 1 and become chairmanin January. He may choose to take a higher profile than Birch, 69,who has been less visible than the group's chief executive FrancisSalway. Birch's departure comes at a period of change in theindustry and follows Sir John Ritblat's announcement he wouldretire as chairman of British Land.

Myners is a high profile figure in Britain's financial world. Heis chairman of the Guardian Media Group (GMG), the Low PayCommission, the Aspen reinsurance company and the Ermitage hedgefund. He also sits on the board of opera house at Glyndebourne,advisors the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. and on theSmith Institute, a right wing economic think-tank.