Nicholson will oversee delivery across the Crown Estate’s £16bn development pipeline.

This urban portfolio spans 10m sq ft of workspace, retail and lifestyle space in London’s West End and a national pipeline of up to 19m sq ft of workspace and 56,000 homes.

A seasoned project leader, Nicholson’s career includes the Sky TV Campus in London, the Aquatic Centre and Athletes Village for the Olympic Delivery Authority, and several landmark projects in New York.

Kristy Lansdown, managing director of development at The Crown Estate, said Nicholson, said: “John joins our Urban Business at an exciting time as we ramp up activity across our development pipeline.

“He brings a wealth of global experience in the construction industry, working on the delivery of technically complex and large-scale projects.

“For the Crown Estate he will also have a particular focus on ensuring our safety-first approach is embedded in everything we do, as we seek to continually raise the bar in Health, Safety & Wellbeing standard.”