F&C REIT has announced the appointment of Des Dennehy to the position of head of Property for Ireland following the retirement of Roger Mansfield at the end of March 2011.

Mansfield has been with the company for more than 30 years, the last 19 of which as head of Property in Ireland. Dennehy, currently Senior Property Manager, will take up responsibility for F&C REIT's operations in the region, which include the management of the Friends First property portfolios.

'I have no doubt that Des will prove to be a worthy successor and will continue to drive the business forward,' said Nick Criticos, CEO of F&C REIT.

F&C REIT Asset Management is an international real estate manager formed in September 2008 through the combination of F&C Asset Management's property business and REIT Asset Management. F&C REIT is an institutionally-partnered force in commercial property and manages a global portfolio worth £7.5 bn on behalf of a wide range of individuals, professional investors, property trusts and institutional clients, with offices in Germany (Munich), India (Mumbai), Ireland (Dublin), Sweden (Stockholm) and the UK (London).