Town Centre hires Asda executive

Mr Dilley ​has held a number of senior finance roles ​at Asda ​over the last ​14 years​ ​​and was most recently ​v​ice ​p​resident​ of​ Retail and Property Finance where he was responsible for all Asda stores and distribution centres as well as new store acquisitions.​

​Prior to Asda, he held a number of senior finance positions at JP Morgan in London for six years. He graduated from Oxford University and is a qualified accountant.

Mr Dilley will join the​ Town Centre b​oard on July ​10 following the retirement of Duncan Syers, ​Town Centre’s current ​f​inance ​d​irector​, who is leaving to pursue his own business interests.

Leeds-based ​Town Centre said that Mr Syers​ has had a long and distinguished career at ​the company​. He was the firm’s finance ​d​irector between 1993 and 2001.​ He​ left the group following the successful disposal of the​ ​original car parking business to pursue his own business interests.

He then re-joined the ​c​ompany to​ ​advise on the expansion of its new car parking business, CitiPark, before becoming ​f​inance ​d​irector​ ​in 2014.

Edward Ziff, ​c​hairman and ​c​hief ​e​xecutive of Town Centre Securities said:​ ​“We are delighted to have identified such a high-quality candidate as Mark Dilley to join Town Centre Securities.

​“​He has had a successful career at Asda, combining his core finance role with​ ​significant retail property experience​. We believe this will be invaluable as we embark on the next stage of the ​c​ompany’s growth and as we continue to focus on the active management of our​ ​portfolio, whilst pursuing attractive development opportunities.

“On behalf of the board, I would like to personally thank Duncan Syers for his long-standing​ ​contribution to Town Centre Securities​. He has played a significant role in developing our car parking​ ​business through two phases of expansion, whilst shepherding the ​c​ompany through challenging​ ​economic times. We wish Duncan well in all of his future endeavours.”

Town Centre, one of the North’s biggest property developers, recently reported record footfall at its Merrion Centre shopping mall in 2016 and said the opening of Trinity Leeds and Victoria Gate has turned Leeds into a premier shopping destination.