Pocket Living has announced that Marc Vlessing is stepping down as chair on 30 September 2026 as the final part of a planned career transition.
Vlessing founded Pocket Living with Paul Harbard over 20 years ago and has been instrumental in establishing the company as a distinctive and innovative residential developer focused on London. The company has delivered over 1,800 homes since inception, the most notable including the award-winning modular Mapleton Terrace tower in Wandsworth and, more recently, the RIBA Award-winning development at Forest Road in Waltham Forest.
Vlessing’s move to the chair role two years ago was conceived as part of a transition, allowing him to provide strategic oversight while the executive leadership team, under CEO Paul Rickard, took operational responsibility for the business.
Vlessing commented: “I am enormously proud of everything we have built together over more than two decades and this feels like a natural moment to focus on the next stage of my career. When I took on the role of chair in April 2024, the intention was always to complete a structured handover and ensure the business was in strong hands – and it is. Paul Rickard and the Pocket team have demonstrated the leadership and creativity this company needs to grow to the next stage of its development.
“Pocket remains a business with purpose at its heart, with a brilliant team and a model that continues to offer one of the best solutions to London’s housing challenge. I leave with great confidence in Pocket’s future and am looking forward to the next chapter with Namier Capital, which I have joined as a senior partner and co-owner, as well as my other advisory work in the public and private sector.”
Paul Rickard, CEO, said: “Marc’s contribution to Pocket Living – and to London housing more broadly – is simply extraordinary. He and his partner built a business from scratch, invented a product category, and proved that doing the right thing and building a successful company are not in conflict. The transition we have been managing since April 2024 has been deliberate and smooth, and I am grateful for Marc’s support throughout. The team, the vision, and the next stage of Pockets growth are all in great shape, and we look forward to the next chapter with great excitement.”
Nick Raynsford, former Pocket NED and Minister of State for Housing and Planning, said: “Marc Vlessing has made a hugely important contribution to British housing over the past 20 years, and it is right that we should celebrate his achievements as he moves on to the next stage of his career.
“He has demonstrated vision in pioneering a radical new approach to the provision of compact, affordable homes, focusing particularly on the needs of key workers and city-makers; determination in facing down the myriad bureaucratic and financial obstacles that have from the outset stood in the way of Pocket Living’s development;[and] judgement in recognising that quality and affordability are not inevitably in conflict and demonstrating that it is possible to develop exemplary schemes at a substantial discount to market prices.”
