Highbourne Group has appointed Robbie Bell, who spent almost 10 years in a similar role at Screwfix earlier in his career, as its new CFO. Robbie replaces Interim CFO Harvey Ainley and begins work immediately for the UK leader in the plumbing, heating and renewable energy market. Highbourne’s brand portfolio
Neil Yeomans, Head of Property Safety and Technology for Orbit has been appointed as the new chair of the National Housing Federation (NHF) building safety group. The NHF set up the group to help shape the sector’s response to the new system of building regulations proposed by the government, and
A Technical Standards team manager with a passion for sustainability and new ways of working has joined UK warranty provider Premier Guarantee as Head of Innovations. Andrew Fox worked with Countryside Properties (now part of Vistry) for 18 years as Associate Director of Technical Standards, focusing on improving homes’ energy
Darren Freed has joined Prologis UK as a Director within the Real Estate and Customer Service team in a newly created role for the company. He joins the UK’s leading owner, developer and investor of logistics property with 20 years of experience in asset and fund management. Previously employed by
The Torbay-based Cavanna Group of companies has announced the appointment of Keith Miller as Group Chairman, replacing Jeremy Cavanna who becomes a non-executive director. The move marks the final part of a succession plan for the family business which was founded in 1923 by Jeremy Cavanna’s grandfather, PD Cavanna and
LEADING house developer, has recruited an industry-leading light to head up its sales and marketing team, continuing its impressive trajectory of growth in the North East as it expands its current portfolio of developments. Tracy Iles joins the team bringing more than 20 years’ new homes and construction experience to
Workman, the UK’s largest independent commercial property management and building consultancy firm, today announced further investment in its ESG team. The new hires reflect continued growth in demand for Workman’s ESG services and for specialist solutions to support the breadth of clients’ ever-increasing sustainability requirements. To date, the Workman ESG
Accomplished expert Lesley Anderson takes the helm at SPA A MAJOR player in Scotland’s thriving procurement sector has appointed renowned expert Lesley Anderson as its permanent head. Now she will drive the development of the Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA), which has £1.1billion of contracts under management and is also delivering
Abloy UK has appointed Jason Boyce ASyl as the new Commercial Product Manager for Electronic Access Control, specialising in the Aperio access control solution. Aperio wireless devices from Abloy UK extend the reach of an access control system or replace mechanical locks with intelligent access control. They operate wire-free, so
Poole based Wyatt Homes has appointed Shaun Pettitt as its first ever external Managing Director, whilst founder, David Wyatt, transitions to Chief Executive. Shaun, 40, from Purbeck, Dorset joined the regional housebuilder last month (May) as it enters into a new phase of growth, marked also by the construction of
Highbourne Group has appointed Robbie Bell, who spent almost 10 years in a similar role at Screwfix earlier in his career, as its new CFO. Robbie replaces Interim CFO Harvey Ainley and begins work immediately for the UK leader in the plumbing, heating and renewable energy market. Highbourne’s brand portfolio includes some of the biggest names in the sector, including City Plumbing, The Bathroom Showroom, PTS, DHS, The Underfloor Heating Store, Plumbworld and PlumbNation. CEO Dave Evans said: “We are delighted to welcome Robbie Bell to our Senior Leadership Team. We believe he is the perfect appointment as we look to lead industry change and continue to grow our business. Those are things that require an experienced CFO capable of making a big impact, and Robbie brings this.” Robbie joins from Holland & Barrett, where he was also CFO, having held similar roles at Welcome Break and a number of large retailers. During his time at Screwfix, he saw trade counters grow from 50 to 600, overseeing sales growth of over £1bn. He said: “It’s an exciting time to be re-joining the sector and I’m looking forward to supporting Highbourne in their strategic ambitions. “I have already been impressed by Highbourne’s business plans and by CEO Dave Evans, HIG Capital and the Senior Leadership Team.”
Neil Yeomans, Head of Property Safety and Technology for Orbit has been appointed as the new chair of the National Housing Federation (NHF) building safety group. The NHF set up the group to help shape the sector’s response to the new system of building regulations proposed by the government, and to support housing associations towards a smooth transition into a new regulatory environment. Key focusses for the group now include sharing experiences and lessons throughout the sector on implementing new safety regulations and providing housing associations with opportunities to hear from the new Building Safety Regulator. Neil has been a member of the group since 2022 and has worked for Orbit for 8 years, heading up an award-winning property safety team who have received national recognition for their work piloting the use of a digital Building Information Modelling (BIM) to create a golden thread of building information for high-rise residential blocks. This year, Orbit has also been awarded a Merit for the second consecutive year for its commitment to customer and property safety by the British Safety Council in its globally recognised International Safety Awards and has received a gold health and safety award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for the fifth consecutive year. Neil takes over the role of Chair following the sad passing of previous Chair, Paul Dockerill, who was Director of Energy and Programme Management at whg housing association. Neil commented: “This group has a really important part to play in shaping the change that will be required across our sector to respond to a new regulatory regime. Paul was passionate about improving building safety, and as I take up this new role, I’m committed to progressing the excellent work he did to ensure that our shared focus on making sure residents are safe, remains the top priority.” Victoria Moffett, Head of Building and Fire Safety Programmes at the NHF added: “We’re delighted that Neil will be chairing our building safety national group. His knowledge, passion and enthusiasm will be a real asset to us in our work to support housing associations to keep ensuring their residents’ safety. “ For more information about the work of the NHF building safety national group visit: https://www.housing.org.uk/events/national-groups/building-safety-national-group/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A Technical Standards team manager with a passion for sustainability and new ways of working has joined UK warranty provider Premier Guarantee as Head of Innovations. Andrew Fox worked with Countryside Properties (now part of Vistry) for 18 years as Associate Director of Technical Standards, focusing on improving homes’ energy efficiency and educating staff and customers on modern methods of construction. Describing the move to the latent defects insurance sector, he said: “I am really looking forward to supporting the structural insurance sector further embrace modern methods of construction and more innovative ways of building.” His career in housebuilding began with Barratt as a joiner and within five years he had been promoted to Site Manager. With Countryside, Andrew drove a programme to improve the energy fabric of new homes through incremental testing of products, systems and design details and refined the improvements to achieve a significant cost efficiency for the business. Premier Guarantee Technical Director Sarah Sheppard added: “We are really pleased to welcome Andrew to the innovations team and we are sure his experience and his passion on the subject of innovative and sustainable construction will be a huge asset for us.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Darren Freed has joined Prologis UK as a Director within the Real Estate and Customer Service team in a newly created role for the company. He joins the UK’s leading owner, developer and investor of logistics property with 20 years of experience in asset and fund management. Previously employed by Aviva Investors as a Director of Real Assets, Darren successfully repositioned assets totalling £2bn assets under management across Aviva Investors’ real estate business. Specialising in commercial real estate development and JV stakeholder management, he was previously responsible for managing a range of asset classes in UK real estate and running a team of asset managers across a variety of funds. His new role will create and execute strategies to maximise income and capital returns and his experience will grow Prologis UK’s Asset Management team, with a focus on deployment of strategic business planning, placemaking, and value-add opportunities. Darren will also deploy these skills to ensure assets earmarked for redevelopment are capable of being converted to sites ready for capital deployment. This will target lifecycle asset management through repositioning older assets and working with the variety of stakeholders to drive occupancy, value, and NOI improvements. Prior to Aviva, Darren was formerly at Hammerson and JLL. Darren is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The Torbay-based Cavanna Group of companies has announced the appointment of Keith Miller as Group Chairman, replacing Jeremy Cavanna who becomes a non-executive director. The move marks the final part of a succession plan for the family business which was founded in 1923 by Jeremy Cavanna’s grandfather, PD Cavanna and PD’s brother Ray. Whilst the business continues to be family owned and supported by a family council, all land and property operations are now managed by a professional team with Group Managing Director Grayham Tucker at the helm. Keith, 53, who joined the company in 2017 as Group Managing Director of Cavanna Homes, transferred to the role of Deputy Chairman on the appointment of Grayham Tucker in January this year. Keith said: “My appointment is the final piece of the jigsaw in a succession plan that began over 10 years ago. “Over three generations and 100 years, the Cavanna family has grown a successful and respected business. They are now placing their trust in me to continue the strategic growth of the business as it enters its second century.” Keith and three non-executive directors including Stephen Trusler, John Lougher and Jeremy Cavanna, will ensure the ongoing engagement between the business and the family – something they have placed a great focus on establishing during the role out of the succession plan. Keith said: “It’s important that the family ethos, which has held the company in such good stead for so many decades, remains at the heart of how we conduct our operations to grow the business.” Jeremy Cavanna said: “Keith has shown himself to be an outstanding leader over the past six years and has embraced the Cavanna family ethos which my grandparents established and grew alongside the business.” Group MD Grayham Tucker is already pressing ahead with the implementation of even higher standards of housebuilding across all of the company’s West Country development sites. He said: “We are already exceeding the sustainability standards set in the new building regulations and intend to go greener sooner by focusing our attention on the very best methods of modern construction, optimising energy-efficiency in our new homes and delivering biodiversity net gain. This is important for our customers and our shareholders, and vital for the planet.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
LEADING house developer, has recruited an industry-leading light to head up its sales and marketing team, continuing its impressive trajectory of growth in the North East as it expands its current portfolio of developments. Tracy Iles joins the team bringing more than 20 years’ new homes and construction experience to the role. Before Lovell, she previously worked for four national housebuilders, working her way up from field sales manager to senior sales manager, before becoming sales director. She joins Lovell as its new sales and marketing manager, where she’ll be responsible for directing marketing initiatives to promote new developments and enhance sales. Tracy said: “I’ve worked in the property world for so many years now, but Lovell’s reputation for excellence has always preceded it. Following the North East region’s launch in 2021, the team has gone from strength to strength, and it’s exciting to get the opportunity to be a part of that.” “The North East region has an ambitious growth plan with a number of new sites coming to fruition across North Yorkshire, Durham and Tyne & Wear, and I’m looking forward to supporting the team during what is set to be an exciting time.” Tracy’s new role will also see her managing and recruiting sales staff and assessing land opportunities. Tracy said: “I’ve joined an incredible team committed to delivering homes of outstanding quality. I’ve been inspired by their enthusiasm, and I look forward to engaging with existing and new clients in the coming months”. Paul Devaney, regional managing director of Lovell Partnerships in the North East region, said: “At Lovell, we always aim to achieve and exceed the expectations of internal and external stakeholders, as well as our customers, by striving for a five-star house builder status. “This is because it’s really important to us to ensure that our house buyers are in a happy environment, and having the right staff members in place is a key part of that. “Tracy has a wealth of experience in the construction industry and is a great asset to our team. With her help, I’m looking forward to building on our success to date.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Workman, the UK’s largest independent commercial property management and building consultancy firm, today announced further investment in its ESG team. The new hires reflect continued growth in demand for Workman’s ESG services and for specialist solutions to support the breadth of clients’ ever-increasing sustainability requirements. To date, the Workman ESG team has delivered Net Zero Asset Plans for more than 5msq. ft of commercial real estate. Meanwhile, the ESG Project Advisor service is going from strength to strength, with more than 3m sq. ft of developments under action, £230m of which involves the refurbishment of existing assets. Jan-Hendrik Hoehnk, ESG Project Surveyor Bringing his architectural and project management skills, alongside an MSc in Sustainable Urban Development, Jan will help Workman to drive enhanced asset and project performance, specialising in the interface between the E, S and G. Understanding how the myriad of ESG requirements can be simplified into clear deliverable strategies is a key part of helping our clients achieve better-performing assets. Danielle Dinneen, Sustainability Consultant Danielle’s architectural background has enabled a thorough understanding of the role of whole-life carbon assessment within development projects. With her MSc in Green Building, Danielle will be leading on modelling whole-life carbon impacts as well as operational energy modelling, both of which are fundamental as part of decision-making through project delivery. Having Danielle’s expertise in-house will help inform carbon discussions at a much earlier project stage, enabling decision-making beyond just aesthetics and cost, while using modelling as a design tool rather than a simple tick-box exercise. Hedley Jones, Head of ESG, Refurbishment & Development, said: “We are investing in growing our team to ensure we’re able to support our clients to achieve their elevated sustainability goals. As investor requirements have extended beyond just meeting minimum sustainability standards, so the breadth of specialist services and creative solutions required has expanded. I look forward to working with our new team members Jan and Danielle as we deliver the next-generation ESG agenda for our clients.” Vicky Cotton, ESG Director at Workman LLP, said: “With the UK Net Zero Carbon Standard on the near horizon, today’s investors are looking for detailed energy modelling and whole-life carbon assessment, along with effective MEES planning to ensure competitive EPC ratings across their portfolios. The biggest driver is the requirement for evidence and disclosure, which requires us to understand and track energy intensity baselines, and then track performance against targets.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Accomplished expert Lesley Anderson takes the helm at SPA A MAJOR player in Scotland’s thriving procurement sector has appointed renowned expert Lesley Anderson as its permanent head. Now she will drive the development of the Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA), which has £1.1billion of contracts under management and is also delivering a benefits scheme worth millions of pounds for local communities. Lesley, who has 27 years in the public and private procurement sector and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, said: “Our role in supporting the delivery of projects for public sector organisations is crucial in the growth of communities. “The projects procured through our solutions offer access to facilities and provides opportunities for children and adults of all ages to thrive within their improved surroundings. “SPA supports councils, housing associations, blue light services, the NHS, further and higher education providers and many other public bodies to build, maintain and refurbish vital social housing and public buildings. “Across the supply chain that means hundreds of Scottish SMEs get the chance to bid for and win lucrative work that creates jobs and employment across the country. “But the most rewarding part is that, as a proud not for profit organisation, we also put our surpluses back into the communities where we operate, through our innovative Community Benefit Fund, which enriches and improves thousands of lives. “It makes me incredibly proud to take up this role and to further this commitment to Scottish communities, our partners and to lead a team of people who consistently impress me.” SPA is Scotland’s largest free-to-join procurement organisation, ensuring its 120 partners can use its extensive frameworks to secure the works and services they need while being confident that the delivery is fully compliant and achieves value for money. It was founded in 2016 as the Scottish business unit of the LHC Procurement Group (LHC), which has been supporting public sector organisations across the UK with technical procurement expertise for over 50 years. That gives it insight at a local, regional and national level into the challenges and priorities for the public sector and it applies this knowledge to develop solutions that meet the evolving needs of its partners. Lesley, who joined SPA in 2017 has now been appointed Regional Director and will lead the 12-strong Scottish team, based in Livingston, West Lothian. They aim to further develop the suite of free, added value services offered to partners, including specialist technical, procurement and social value advisory support. Lesley’s team will also build on the successes of the SPA Community Benefit Fund (CBF), delivered by long-standing housing charity partner, Lintel Trust. Since 2017 the CBF has delivered more than £1.7million of grants and match funding to scores of community groups, charities and causes. Projects have included Holiday Hunger programmes, community gardens, employability initiatives, digital inclusion, apprenticeship support funds and specialist mental health services. These projects have helped improve the lives of at least 19,000 people while delivering social value of more than £3.9 million. LHC Group Managing Director, Clive Feeney said: “Lesley has an outstanding reputation within the procurement industry. Her impressive CV is backed up with a fantastic track record. “She’s already taken great strides in making sure we work more closely than ever with our partners to deliver exactly what they need and her commitment to delivering benefits to Scottish communities is firmly rooted. “I wish Lesley every success going forward in what is a very exciting time for SPA.” SPA’s 120 partners cover a diverse range of public sector entities from small cooperatives, regional and national registered social landlords (RSLs), as well as local authorities. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Abloy UK has appointed Jason Boyce ASyl as the new Commercial Product Manager for Electronic Access Control, specialising in the Aperio access control solution. Aperio wireless devices from Abloy UK extend the reach of an access control system or replace mechanical locks with intelligent access control. They operate wire-free, so battery-powered Aperio devices are fast and cost-effective to install and save money in operating and maintenance costs. Jason brings a wealth of experience from his previous roles, which include being a qualified electrician, working in the IP and telecoms sector, and 15 years in the world of enterprise access control before setting up his own business as an independent security consultant. He then began his career with Abloy as a Business Development Manager in the education sector, before being promoted. Jason’s new role sees him responsible for the product management and commercial success of Aperio. By combining his experience both in sales and as a consultant, he can identify client needs and help them overcome challenges with access control and security. When discussing what characteristics make him an excellent fit for the role, he said: “My background as a consultant has allowed me to take a step back and look at things differently and ask probing meaningful questions to find the best solution to a problem. “Often clients don’t know what solution they need, so we have to ask what issues they are trying to overcome and see things from a different perspective. Ultimately, we are a trusted advisor, but we also have the portfolio of products to resolve their problems.” Jason added: “I strongly believe in the Aperio system and the many benefits it offers a range of sectors, due to its flexible nature. I am looking forward to proactively creating a new strategy for how to market and communicate this. Our solutions are already very popular, but it would be interesting to take these into different verticals and identify where they can make a real difference.” Pat Jefferies, Commercial Director at Abloy UK, explains why Jason was the ideal choice for this role: “Having worked with Jason for the last couple of years, we identified an excellent opportunity to get somebody with his unique and varied experience into the role of Commercial Product Manager. “Jason has a strong vision of how to implement his strategy and new ways of working that will better position us in the market and service our customer’s needs. We are delighted to have him on board and are excited to see how he makes this role his own.” To learn more about Aperio and how it can help your business, contact Jason Boyce via email: jason.boyce@assaabloy.com. For further information on products and services available from Abloy, visit https://bit.ly/3MWQWdQ call 01902 364 500, or email info@abloy.co.uk. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Poole based Wyatt Homes has appointed Shaun Pettitt as its first ever external Managing Director, whilst founder, David Wyatt, transitions to Chief Executive. Shaun, 40, from Purbeck, Dorset joined the regional housebuilder last month (May) as it enters into a new phase of growth, marked also by the construction of its own, purpose built office at its prestigious Rivers Edge development in nearby Wimborne Minster. With a background in town planning, immediate and strategic land acquisition, and more latterly as Managing Director for a national developer, Shaun is ideally placed to see operations through to the next chapter. He said, “I see it as a huge privilege to have been appointed as Wyatt’s first external Managing Director. “This is a key moment for the business as we look to further invest in scaling up our output over the next few years, whilst still maintaining the quality and high standards that the Wyatt brand is known for and that David has worked so hard to cultivate over the years. “With a shared ambition to build high quality new homes, I’m looking forward to being part of the next exciting chapter in our journey.” David Wyatt added, “This change in management reflects our plans to significantly grow the business and raise our profile. I’m confident that Shaun will be integral to helping us deliver our goals with the support of our exceptional team here at Wyatt Homes.” Wyatt Homes currently has new homes developments in Wimborne, Puddletown and Charminster in Dorset, Yeovil in Somerset and North Baddesley in Hampshire. The company has three new schemes to bring to market this year and is looking to expand its operational area further across the south coast. Its new head office will be ready by the summer of 2024 when the business will move from its current head office in Poole town centre to Wimborne. Shaun is married with four children and enjoys making the most of the Dorset coastline with his family whilst also coaching two junior football teams. For more information visit www.wyatthomes.co.uk.
