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Gareth Lewis, finance director at the European Public Real Estate Association is to leave EPRA at end-September after five years in the role.

Lewis said his departure was for personal reasons. 'Having recently got married and after five very interesting years at EPRA, I feel it is a good time to move on and look for new opportunities and challenges, most likely back in the UK, ' he told PropertyEU in an emailed response.

During his time as part of the senior management team at EPRA, Lewis was responsible for policy and regulation around financial reporting, capital markets, REITs, industry standards and valuation.

Lewis also established a Brussels-based lobbying function for the European listed real estate sector.

In a statement, EPRA said Lewis pioneered many key initiatives including European REIT developments, International Accounting Standard developments, industry key performance indicators, sustainability reporting, taxation and European regulation.

Prior to joining EPRA, Lewis led industry lobbying on finance and investment related matters at the British Property Federation. He led the pan-industry group lobbying the British government, which played a key role in establishing the case for a UK REIT regime and shaping the legislation.

Lewis also spent eight years at Ernst & Young advising property businesses and investors on tax structuring and compliance both in the London and New York offices.