Whistleblower's complaint challenges London landlord

Property developer calls in lawyers to investigate allegations that diversity data was misused to boost bonuses, reports Barney Macintyre

- Barney Macintyre

A FTSE 250 property developer and landlord has hired lawyers to investigate allegations of sexual harassment, "retaliatory" behaviour, and manipulation of diversity and inclusion data to boost bonuses.

William Eccleshare, chair of Great Portland Estates (GPE) since February, is leading the investigation into the claims by a whistleblower, along with law firm Addleshaw Goddard. GPE owns London office spaces worth £2.9bn, 90% of them within walking distance of an Elizabeth line station.

The whistleblower alleges the HR team was requested by a department head to manipulate data on the diversity of the headcount in order to secure higher bonus awards.

The complaint alleges selective inclusion of employees, the counting of future hires and retroactive promotions to meet interim targets for gender and ethnicity to trigger a partial payout to directors in 2024.

In response to questions about the complaint, seen by The Observer, GPE chief executive Toby Courtauld said: "I do not recognise the picture painted of GPE's culture and I therefore welcome the independent review that is being undertaken by the company's non-executive directors."