HONG KONG -- The sixth-generation scion of the Swire family made a surprise announcement Friday evening, resigning as chairman of the Hong Kong-listed flagship conglomerate Swire Pacific and its key real estate arm Swire Properties.
Merlin Swire, the chairman of both companies, steps down Aug. 24 as he takes the role of chief executive at John Swire & Sons, the parent of the Swire group, based in London. He will remain a director of three Hong Kong-listed units, including Cathay Pacific Airways, but is returning to the U.K. after serving in the top positions at the Hong Kong units for only three years.
Guy Bradley, chief executive of Swire Properties, will become chairman of Swire Pacific and Swire Properties. Bradley, in turn, will be succeeded by Tim Blackburn, the CEO of the property arm's mainland Chinese operation.
No clear explanation has been given for Merlin Swire's departure from the chairmanships, including the timing. The news release merely stated that it was Swire who "indicated his intention" to do so. Swire Pacific's public affairs officer told Nikkei Asia that Merlin Swire "will remain involved in the group's strategic development" in his new roles, but did not address why he was leaving Hong Kong.
Merlin Swire, 47, took the reins of Swire Pacific in July 2018. At his first earnings conference the following March, he told reporters that his appointment as chairman was for the family "to really reengage with Hong Kong, to build relationships in Hong Kong and get to understand how Hong Kong is working."
For Swire, who was born in the U.K., it was a return to living in the former British colony for the first time since 2004. He stressed at the time that his move "reinforces the family's sense of confidence in continuing to invest" in the region.
Swire Group traces its roots to Liverpool where John Swire, Merlin's great-great-great-grandfather, started a trading business in 1816. The family business expanded into Qing dynasty China in 1861, opened its first Hong Kong branch in 1870 and has been in greater China and Asia since then, under the name of Swire in English, or Taikoo in Cantonese and Taigu in Mandarin.
U.K.-based John Swire & Sons remains the headquarters of the business, but the Swire brand -- which spans aviation and real estate to beverages and retail -- resonates more in Hong Kong, mainland China and elsewhere in Asia than at home. Merlin Swire himself admitted in a March 2019 news conference that he was "really surprised" to rediscover the strength of the family name after moving back to Hong Kong.
Swire Pacific in 2020 recorded revenue of 80.03 billion Hong Kong dollars ($10.3 billion), and over 70% came from Hong Kong, mainland China and the rest of Asia.
Upon announcing his departure Friday, Merlin Swire said in a statement that he is "delighted by the progress made in strengthening and expanding our businesses in the Chinese mainland."
The scion also vowed "to spend a substantial part of each year in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, engaging with stakeholders and business partners as Swire deepens and expands its presence," but gave no further specifics on that front.
The focus in mainland China will remain on property and beverages, he said, as the group operates the Coca-Cola business in 11 mainland provinces and the city of Shanghai. This business produced half of Swire's HK$2 billion in sales in the beverage segment last year, while the group develops new sectors such as health care.
"I am fully committed to these exciting developments," he said.
No matter what the reasons for his return to the U.K., Merlin Swire becomes one of the latest individuals to depart Hong Kong after Beijing imposed a strict national security law on the territory last June.
"I feel [the] luck as I arrived at a good time," Swire had said at his first news conference in March 2019. But that good time may have passed.