The founder and chief executive of Capital & Regional, Britain's largest retail park and shopping centre developer, has been ousted over a year ahead of his retirement after presiding over a 70 per cent annual decline in the company's share price.

Martin Barber, who founded the company 30 years ago, will be replaced by Hugh Scott-Barrett, the former finance director at ABN Amro, on April 1.

Mr Scott Barrett resigned as ABN's finance director in May last year after the Dutch investment bank announced a merger with Barclays but before Royal Bank of Scotland's approach emerged.

Talks are underway to finalise the terms of what is expected to be a multi-million pound severance package for Mr Barber.

In December, Capital & Regional announced that Mr Barber would retire in August 2009 to co-incide with his 65th birthday.

At the time, speculation rose there was tension between Mr Barber and Tom Chandos, Capital & Regional's chairman, over the group's declining shareprice that fell from a £16.95 high to a 391p low at the end of 2007, wiping over £800 million off the company's market value.

Mr Chandos said today that Mr Scott-Barrett's experience "has given Capital & Regional the opportunity to put in place the ideal leadership for the future."

Commenting on the outgoing chief executive, Mr Chandos spoke of Mr Barber's "extraordinary contribution to the company over the last 30 years and the board is very pleased to have been able to secure such a strong succession to him."

Mr Barber still owns a 3.33 per cent shareholding in the company.

Retail property has been the worst performing commercial property asset over the past year, in particular secondary shopping centres and retail parks in which Capital & Regional specialises.

The company holds the bulk of its assets in three funds which it manages and in which it holds minority stakes. The two largest, the Mall shopping centre and Junction retail park funds, have seen their values fall by up to 20 per cent.

In December the group was forced to announce that it might have to repay lucrative fees on its funds earned during better times. The repayments would cost the company up to 50p a share.

The group is due to report results this week with analysts forecasting its net asset value per share – the bench-mark performance indicator for property companies – to slump by more than 20 per cent to about £10.20 a share.

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