James Hughes-Hallett has been appointed as the next chairman of the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation coinciding, with the release of the charity’s annual report this week.

Hughes-Hallett, a member of the board since 2005, will take over the role from Tom Chandos in June 2013.

The annual report reveals that Esmée Fairbairn increased its spending significantly in 2011 even though its investments decreased in value.

The figures show that it spent £42.8 on grantmaking, operations and other investments in 2011 compared with £32.8m in 2010, an increase of 30 per cent. During the same period the market value of the charity’s investments fell from £872.1m in 2010 to £804.5m in 2011.

Each year, the Foundation looks to spend approximately 4 per cent of the investment portfolio’s average value over the preceding five years, although last year’s figure was 4.5 per cent, up from 3.9 per cent in 2010.

One reason for the increase in grantmaking from £27.9m (2010) to £39.6m (2011) was that last year Esmee Fairbairn celebrated 50 years since it was founded and gave £5m worth of grants to 15 organisations as ‘birthday gifts’.

Hughes-Hallett is chairman of John Swire & Sons Ltd and a director of Cathay Pacific Airways. He is also a trustee of the Dulwich Picture Gallery.