We take our weekly look at appointments and promotions across the housebuilding industry and its supply chain.
David Major, Keepmoat
Keepmoat has appointed a new technical director for its Yorkshire East region, based in Doncaster.
David Major joins the team with significant experience from a career which spans more than 28 years across both residential and retirement living, including previous roles with McCarthy & Stone and Stewart Milne Home.
Commenting on his appointment, Major said: “I am delighted to bring my experience to the Keepmoat team, overseeing a fantastic opportunity in the Yorkshire East region to strengthen technical specification and strategic delivery of high-quality homes. I look forward to working with the wider team.”
Regional managing director, Ciaran Aldridge, added: “It’s great to have David join the team – his breadth of experience will no doubt help drive the region to meeting its ambitious plot delivery targets. As we continue to grow, with exciting developments in the pipeline, it’s vital for the communities we serve that we have strong leaders, such as David, in place to ensure the right homes are in the right places.”
Two appointments, Kirkwood Timber Frame
Kirkwood Timber Frame has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Aaron Macaskill (pictured left) as managing director and the promotion of Chris Smollet (pictured right) to operations and commercial director
Both bring significant experience across the housebuilding, timber frame and wider construction sectors. Macaskill was previously at sister company Kirkwood Homes for some 17 years, having progressed through a number of positions including architectural technologist, land & planning manager, and technical director.
Smollet joined Kirkwood Homes as a quantity surveyor in 2021 and has accumulated 12 years’ experience across the timber frame and wider construction industry. He moved to Kirkwood Timber Frame as commercial manager in 2025.
Macaskill said: “Having spent my whole working career with Kirkwood, this is a particularly rewarding professional milestone for me. I’m delighted to have inherited a strong order book at Kirkwood Timber Frame and my priority will be to capitalise on that by maintaining the relationships we have currently with existing customers, and identifying new opportunities to further upscale the business.
Two appointments, Persimmon Homes
Persimmon Homes Wessex has appointed two of its own to senior positions in the business.
Ben Hale (picture left) has moved from construction director to the role of operations director, overseeing the region’s construction and customer functions. He started in the industry with Persimmon 25 years ago as an apprentice bricklayer when he was 16. became a site manager in 2010, contracts manager in 2014, and construction director in 2020. In his most recent role, the business won five Pride in the Job awards under his supervision.
Former senior contracts manager Lee Bell (pictured right) is now head of construction. He also began his career aged 16, trying his hand at various trades before settling as a carpenter and moving into site management. He became a site manager for Persimmon in 2014. After a period with away from the company, he returned as a contracts manager four years ago after winning a Pride in the Job award.
Three appointments, Views
Macclesfield-based Views has made three appointments to support strategic growth across the business.
Head of acquisitions, Rob Haynes (pictured left), will lead on origination and execution of investment deals and work directly with co-founder, Shoaib Muhammad within the company’s Investment business. With industry experience dating back to 2010, Haynes has held roles at MCR Property Group and Delph.
Simon Newby (pictured centre) has been appointed to the position of senior contracts manager and joins after nine years at Vistry Group. He arrives with 22 years’ experience in housebuilding and will run point on every Views housing development, with direct responsibility for health & safety and the on-site delivery of Views’ existing pipeline.
Andrew Turnbull (pictured right) has been recruited to the newly-created role of delivery director within the Housebuilding business, assuming ownership and accountability for projects from the point of acquisition to completion.
Shujaat Rasool, co-CEO of Views, said: “These are significant hires and are demonstrative of turning the strategy and transformational work over the last 12 months into real capability.”
Jonathan Cook, Colliers
Colliers has appointed Jonathan Cook as head of its Manchester office, with responsibility for leading more than 80 professionals across the firm’s operations in the city.
He will combine the position with his existing role in Colliers’ National Offices team. Cook (pictured left with John Munday, CEO UK for Colliers) succeeds Dominic Pozzoni, who will continue as head of National Offices.
Cook joined Colliers as a director in its National Offices team in 2024, bringing over 12 years’ experience in the Manchester office market following previous roles at LSH and CBRE. His work has included advising institutional clients on office developments, capital markets and large-scale projects.
Cook commented: “We have a talented team, strong client relationships and an excellent platform to build from. I’m looking forward to working with colleagues across the business to build on that success, bring fresh ideas to the table and drive the office forward. There’s a real opportunity to make a meaningful difference, both for our people and our clients.”
Richard Frudd, Association for Rental Living
The Association for Rental Living (ARL) has appointed Richard Frudd of Quod as the new chair of its North East and Yorkshire Hub, a previously held by Glide UK’s Paul Beattie, to serve alongside existing vice chair Dan Asquith of BRE.
Frudd is a senior planning director at Quod with over 25 years’ experience of large-scale, complex residential, commercial and regionally strategic developments.
Brendan Geraghty, CEO of ARL, welcomed Frudd: “We are delighted that Richard will lead the next phase of the Hub’s valuable work, with education, networking and events all contributing to the success and growth of the residential living sector in the North East and Yorkshire.”
Frudd reciprocated: “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the Hub into its next chapter following the brilliant work of Paul and Dan to get it established and thriving. We look forward to engaging with our peers across the public and private sectors to contribute to the ongoing success and growth of rental living in the region.”
Tom Warth, The Planning Inspectorate
The Planning Inspectorate has announced the permanent appointment of Tom Warth as chief operating officer (COO), having held the role of interim COO for the past eight months.
He originally joined as a case officer in enforcement and succeeded in a number of roles across planning and infrastructure casework. Before stepping into the interim COO role, Tom was head of the Planning and Environmental Appeals Service, where he led the team responsible for processing and determining around 20,000 planning, enforcement and other appeals we receive each year.
Warth said: “I’m honoured to take on the role of chief operating officer permanently.”
Graham Stallwood, chief executive of the Planning Inspectorate, said: “I’m really pleased Tom has been appointed permanently and I know he will bring the same steady, thoughtful leadership to the role of COO that has defined his years with us. His appointment means we are gaining a leader who genuinely understands the Inspectorate from the ground up.”
Josh Swaby, Hampshire Trust Bank
Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) has promoted Josh Swaby to lending manager within its Development Finance team.
Previously business development manager, Swaby and will work across the North and Midlands, reporting to lending director Sarah Dix. He arrived at HTB in June 2022 as a relationship manager before moving into business development in January 2024. Prior to joining HTB, he spent almost four years at NatWest Group as an assistant relationship manager, having previously worked at RBS. He also holds a Lending Skills qualification from the Chartered Banker Institute.
Swaby said: “I’m delighted to be taking this next step in my career at HTB. Having worked closely with brokers and developers over the past four years, I’ve seen first-hand just how much goes into getting a development off the ground and how important it is to have a lender who understands what you’re trying to achieve.
