Automotive retail and distribution giant Inchcape has appointed Reuters in-house lawyer Claire Chapman as its new general counsel and group company secretary.

Chapman, who was Reuters' area general counsel for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, joined the news agency in 2005.

She will take over from current Inchcape general counsel Roy Williams – who is retiring after 20 years as general counsel with the company – on 1 July and will report to Inchcape group chief executive Andre Lacroix, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Euro Disney.

Lacroix said: "Claire and her team will be an important cornerstone in the international growth programme of expanding our business in existing and developing markets."

The UK-based company, which also has major operations in Australia, Greece, Hong Kong and Singapore, is in the process of restructuring its operations in an effort to boost its profile and grow the retail side of its business. In December it bought UK rival dealership European Motor Holdings for £263m as part of an ongoing drive to boost its domestic operations.

Inchcape is a FTSE 250 company with over 10,000 employees and an annual turnover of £2.5bn. The company currently uses Slaughter and May for all legal matters.