LRG has promoted four female colleagues to director-level positions, marking the appointments ahead of International Women’s Day and underlining the group’s emphasis on developing talent internally.

The business, one of the UK’s largest property services groups, said the promotions span customer experience, lettings operations and build-to-rent, with each of the four having built her career within the organisation.

Donna Wright, FARLA FNAEA, who has been with LRG for 36 years, takes on the role of director of customer support and engagement. She began her career as a branch manager before moving into compliance and quality roles.

Wendy De Swart, MARLA qualified and nearing 32 years at the group, has been promoted from head of process and implementation to director of lettings implementation.

Genna Handford, who joined LRG in 2018, steps up from head of lettings support centre to director of lettings support centres.

Justine Edmonds, who played a key role in establishing LRG Living Markets, moves from head of build-to-rent to director of build-to-rent, bringing more than two decades of experience in the property sector.

GENDER BALANCE AND INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT

The group said the four new directors collectively bring decades of service to the business. Women now account for 60% of LRG’s workforce, while 36% of its executive board is female.

Since 2019, LRG said its gender pay gap has narrowed from 43.59% to 26.40%.

Part of that shift has been supported by EmpowerHER, an internal programme launched in 2024 to provide mentoring, roundtable events and professional development for women across the organisation. The initiative has engaged more than 400 women through seven roundtable sessions in under two years.

Hannah Cooper, chief people officer at LRG, said: “These promotions aren’t about ticking a box. Donna, Wendy, Genna and Justine have each earned their place at director level through years of hard work and deep expertise.

“What I’m proud of is that LRG is a business where that work gets recognised. Programmes like EmpowerHER play a part in that, but ultimately it comes down to a culture where leadership backs its people, and the door is genuinely open.”

The appointments come as firms across the property sector continue to face scrutiny over board representation and pay disparities, with larger groups in particular under pressure to demonstrate progress on diversity and inclusion beyond headline targets.

Pictured, clockwise from top left: Justine Edmonds, Genna Handford, Donna Wright and Wendy de Swart.