We take our weekly look at appointments and promotions across the housebuilding industry and its supply chain.
Three appointments, Story Homes
Story Homes has announced three senior promotions across its regional operations teams.
Hayley Blair (pictured left) has been appointed operations director for Cumbria & Scotland, having previously been sales & group marketing director. She has progressed through a number of roles since joining the business as a sales executive in 2006.
Luke Walker (pictured centre) has also been promoted to operations director for Cumbria & Scotland from his previous role as land & technical director. Walker joined Story Homes in 2011 as an assistant development engineer and now leads pre-development activity across the region, spanning technical, land, planning and commercial operations.
Andrew Price (pictured right) has been appointed operations director for the North East, following his promotion from development director. Price previously held commercial management roles at Gentoo before joining Story Homes in 2018.
Colin Wood, CEO at Story Homes, said: “Hayley, Luke and Andrew each bring considerable experience and leadership to their new roles and will continue to play an important part in the ongoing success of the business.”
Stuart Phillips, Persimmon Homes
Persimmon Homes has announced that Stuart Phillips has been appointed regional managing director for Wales.
The appointment follows Phillips’s strong leadership of Persimmon’s West Wales regional business, where he will continue to serve as managing director alongside his new wider responsibilities. He will now support the East Wales region, working closely with MD Lee Hawker, and will continue to report to regional chairman, Stephen Cleveley.
Commenting on his appointment, Phillips said: “As the nation’s leading housebuilder, Persimmon has a strong and established presence across Wales, and I look forward to working closely with colleagues in both West and East Wales as we continue to deliver high-quality new homes for local people.”
Cleveley added of Phillips: “His experience, relationships and understanding of the Welsh housing landscape will be invaluable as we continue to build on the progress being made across both regions and support the delivery of much-needed homes across Wales.”
Andrew Teacher, ARL
The Association for Rental Living (ARL) has appointed Andrew Teacher as special advisor for sector strategy and development.
Teacher has been an advocate for the residential sector for over 20 years, initially spending time at the British Property Federation. After working at IPD, he set up Blackstock Consulting, advising many institutional investors including M&G Real Estate, Grainger & Legal & General, and helping build sector-leading brands such as Essential Living, Moda Living and Nido.
After selling Blackstock in 2022, Teacher went client-side, working with the John Lewis Partnership support the BTR team and the securing of three planning consents. He has co-founded a new business with former Goodbody investment banker Colm Lauder, and is also an executive committee member for the Urban Land Institute.
Teacher said: “Giving back to the sector is an important part of how we still do business, so I’m delighted to be able to support the market in this role with the ARL.”
Joanne Morrison, Gleeson Homes
Gleeson Homes has appointed Joanne Morrison as its new regional managing director for the North West as the business continues its expansion across the region, with new communities emerging in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Carlisle and Cumbria.
Based at Gleeson’s office in Penrith, Morrison brings more than 20 years’ senior-level experience in the housebuilding industry. She most recently served as regional MD for Vistry Group’s Mercia region, where she led the division for over a decade. Earlier in her career, Morrison trained as a solicitor at Pitmans in Reading, where she first developed a passion for development work. She went on to work in‑house at Bovis Homes and later in private practice in the real estate team at Wragge & Co LLP in Birmingham (now Gowlings).
Morrison said: “I am looking forward to growing the team into a successful, ambitious and hard-working team which delivers exceptional homes to our customers and stabilises the region for the future with a successful land bank coming through.”
Three appointments, Allison Homes
Allison Homes Central has strengthened its team by welcoming three new employees into management roles, as part of its expansion across Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Macaulay Anniss, Chris Smith and Dan Smith recently joined as head of architecture, partnerships manager, and land and partnerships manager respectively, based in the company’s Peterborough head office.
Macaulay (pictured centre) has previously managed technical teams working on bespoke and award-winning projects across the South and South East. Chris Smith (pictured left) is able to utilise experience gained whilst working as an assistant development director for a national registered provider, covering the North and East Midlands. Dan Smith gravitated towards partnerships homebuilding after beginning his career in politics and joined a national developer on its graduate scheme.
Adam Knight, managing director at Allison Homes Central, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Macaulay, Chris and Dan to our rapidly growing team. We are looking forward to seeing how Macaulay, Chris and Dan each push the business forward into new avenues of success.”
Tom Boxall, Bidwells
Bidwells has appointed Tom Boxall as a partner in the firm’s operational living capital markets division.
Boxall joins from Unite Students where he spent the past two years as acquisition and development manager. He started his career at Avison Young as a graduate and worked his way up to associate director level within residential and mixed-use development advisory for private and public sector clients.
In his new role, he will be based in the firm’s London office and will work alongside partners Rob Sheldon (single family and affordable housing), Oliver Heywood (co-living and BTR) and team partner Colin Summers, working across the PBSA and student living, co-living and BTR sectors.
Colin Summers, capital markets team partner at Bidwells, said: “Tom’s experience client side… will be instrumental in expanding our client base across operational living sectors as we continue to strengthen our capital markets advisory offering, assembling a cutting edge and integrated capital markets advisory business as partner our wider growth ambitions.”
Grant Sanderson, Donaldson Timber Systems
UK offsite timber frame manufacturer Donaldson Timber Systems has appointed Grant Sanderson as head of technical.
He has built his career with the company over the last decade, joining as a structural engineer in 2015, before being promoted to engineering manager in 2020. With a BSc (Hons) in Civil Engineering from Napier University and close to 20 years of experience, Sanderson began his career at a structural engineering consultancy in Edinburgh, where he found a niche in timber frame engineering. Prior to joining Donaldson Timber Systems, he also spent three years in the offshore oil and gas industry.
Commenting on his promotion, Sanderson said: “The people and expertise within the business are what makes Donaldson Timber Systems such a great place to develop a career. When I joined ten years ago, I quickly settled in thanks to the support and camaraderie of the team, many of whom are still with the business today and have all played a significant part in my development.”
Ged McPartlin, Simple Life Management
Simple Life Management, the operational arm of BTR specialist Sigma Capital, has announced the appointment of Ged McPartlin as managing director.
McPartlin comes with more than 25 years’ experience spanning lettings, property management, and large-scale residential asset operations. He founded and scaled one of the UK’s most significant single-family housing management platforms, Ascend, growing it over eight years to £10million in annual turnover before exiting in 2023. He has spent over a decade in BTR.
McPartlin said: “Having worked closely with the Sigma team during my time at Ascend, I’ve seen first-hand the strength of their platform and the ambition behind the Simple Life brand, so stepping into this role felt like a natural progression. It’s a move that strongly aligns with my experience and aspirations.
“The team has built a genuinely best-in-class operational model and is scaling with real momentum, continually expanding its portfolio of homes, locations and services to enhance what is already a compelling offer. I’m thrilled to be joining at such an exciting point in the journey.”
Matt Garner, PLATFORM_
PLATFORM_ has appointed Matt Garner as its new chief financial officer, succeeding Jonathan Rae who is leaving the company after eight years to take up the role of CFO at Grosvenor Property UK.
He brings a wealth of financial experience from his 13 years of real estate CFO roles, most recently at Praxis Real Estate Management Limited. He has an extensive track record in transforming finance functions and leading transactions, including executing £800m of real estate debt facilities. Garner also spent six years at PwC following qualification as a Chartered Accountant at Simmons Gainsford Group.
Garner commented: “PLATFORM_ has a strong track record of delivering high‑quality homes at scale, creating both an exceptional resident experience and long‑term value for investment partners. I’m delighted to join the team at an exciting stage, as the business continues to grow and deliver its development pipeline, while continuing to expand its operating platform, including into third-party management.”
Michael Demmer, Duravit
The Supervisory Board of Duravit AG appointed Michael Demmer as CEO and chairman of the management board. Until now, Demmer had been serving as interim CEO.
Gregor Greinert, chairman of the Supervisory Board, said: “In a very short time, Michael Demmer has provided decisive impetus and developed a compelling strategic vision for Duravit’s future. On this basis, we have decided to officially appoint him as CEO and to consistently continue on the path we have chosen.”
Demmer added: “Duravit has a strong brand, a long tradition, and great potential. I am grateful for the trust placed in me and look forward to taking the next steps together with the team and shaping the company’s future in a sustainable way.”
Sky Mapson, Maslow Capital
After 14 years with the company, Maslow Capital has promoted Sky Mapson to managing director, Origination (UK).
Mapson played a key role in the UK contribution to a record year for the company, originating transactions including a £500m whole loan secured against a portfolio of five operational PBSA assets across the UK; a £122m development facility for a mixed-use co-living scheme in Abbey Wood, London; and a £116.6m development facility for two PBSA schemes in Wembley, London.
Mapson commented: “Fourteen years on, the things that brought me to Maslow Capital are the things that have kept me here. The people I work with, the breadth of deals on our platform, from bridges to large complex transactions, and sponsor relationships that have developed alongside my own career.”
Emma Burke, MD, head of development finance Origination (UK & Europe) at Maslow Capital, added: “Sky’s promotion is well-earned.”
