McCarthy Stone appoints new COO to lead growth plans

McCarthy Stone, the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities, has appointed Shane Paull as its new Chief Operating Officer.

Shane brings a wealth of experience to the role having worked at the business for the past 23 years. He joined McCarthy Stone in 2000 and progressed quickly, becoming land director in its Southern division in 2006 and then Divisional Managing Director (DMD) for Southern in 2012, a position he has held for the last 11 years. Shane has been responsible for the development of more than 100 retirement communities during his time as DMD.

Shane will take on his new role from 3 April 2023 and will be responsible for McCarthy Stone’s strategic development functions, including land, planning, build, construction and health & safety, as well as group sales & marketing. He will report to the Group’s Chief Executive, John Tonkiss and will continue as a member of McCarthy Stone’s Executive Committee, supporting the company’s four DMDs. Shane’s replacement in Southern will be confirmed shortly.

Commenting on the appointment, John Tonkiss, McCarthy Stone’s Chief Executive, said: “I am delighted that Shane will become our Chief Operating Officer as he knows our business inside out. He is hugely respected across the organisation and the sector, and his experience of developing high-quality retirement communities is second to none. Shane will play a key role in driving growth in the business to move us back to building and completing 2,000 units a year.”

Shane added: “I am a passionate believer in the ability of retirement communities to improve the lives of older people, having seen this first hand for the past 23 years. I will use my experience at McCarthy Stone to continue to develop our product and its quality so it can support many more people in the future. My focus will be on helping us to innovate, drive consistency, control build costs, and develop our brand and proposition.”

Shane will also be responsible for McCarthy Stone’s multi tenure strategy, following the launch of its rental offering in 2019, as well as delivering its strategy for Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). McCarthy Stone is the only national housebuilder to have committed to building 50% of its future developments in full using MMC.

McCarthy Stone is currently selling across c.100 developments in England and Wales. It completed 1,210 new units in FY22. Across the last decade it has been responsible for more than half of all retirement communities opened in the UK, and the company is known for its quality and high levels of customer service – it is the only housebuilder to have received the HBF Five Star award for customer service every year it has been run.