Henderson Global Investors property veteran Neil Varnham is leaving.

Varnham, who has been at the company in its various guises for 33 years, will leave in April. He resigned in December.

He was head of business development and head of retail in the UK and Europe and was responsible for and launched a number of funds over the years including Henderson’s UK shopping centre fund, its European outlet fund, its out of town retail fund and most recently its UK outlet fund which was seeded with last year’s biggest retail purchase in the UK – the £365m McArthurGlen outlet portfolio.

Varnham’s career at Henderson spanned Pearl, and then AMP Asset Management which is now Henderson Global Investors.

Large retail projects that he led for Henderson include the Bullring in Birmingham and Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow.

Varnham, 51, aims to pursue a new role in retail asset management and fund creation and is also looking at opportunities in a non-executive capacity.

He will remain BCSC’s vice president this year and will be its president in 2010.