Connells Group strengthens its land and new homes business

Paul Quelch has been appointed land director for the Sequence brands of William H Brown, Allen & Harris and Brown & Merry.

Quelch brings 30 years’ property experience to his role, the majority of which was spent at Connells in a variety of positions including branch manager, area director and land & new homes director.

He was most recently at Spicerhaart where he was land director for the North Region, and now rejoins Connells Group in his new role as land director across the Sequence brands.

As part of his responsibilities, Quelch will be charged with forging new relationships with developers and landowners, promoting and acquiring strategic land opportunities for future developments of all scales and focusing his expertise, in particular, across the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.

“I know how determined the Group is to grow market share by offering the highest quality services, and I am delighted to be part of a business which has a history of continuous commitment and investment into its land and new homes operation going back decades,” said Quelch. “Personally, I know and greatly respect the senior leaders in Sequence, and indeed Connells Group, and the way they have handled this most challenging of years, doing things properly and always putting staff first. Although I was tempted away a few years ago, I feel very lucky to have been welcomed back into the business.”

“There continues to be great demand for land and new homes, with a shortage of housing in the UK,” he added. “Developers, and importantly the financiers that back them, are cautiously confident about the future, and although there may be some hurdles to jump in 2021, no one doubts the underlying strength of the UK housing market. I look forward to being part of the Land team at this exciting time.”

Property Master appoints Christopher Brown as head of digital marketing

Property Master has announced the appointment of Christopher Brown as its head of digital marketing.

Brown joins the online buy-to-let mortgage broker after holding senior marketing positions at a range of businesses including the Shopacheck Financial Services, Webuyanycar, JLA Group, and Advanced, the UK’s second largest software vendor.

Brown said: “I am impressed by the way Property Master has sought to position itself as being on the side of landlords by using a variety of online tools to keep them up to speed with market developments and put them in control of their finances.”

Property Master was launched three years ago and is the UK’s first and only digital mortgage broker solely focused on UK buy-to-let landlords.

Angus Stewart, chief executive, Property Master, said: “As an online business our digital footprint is vital to our success and we are looking forward to seeing Christopher build on what we have achieved so far and contribute from his experience of building successful online presences.”

Retirement Villages Group makes three senior appointments

Retirement Villages Group (RVG) has made three senior appointments to lead the business through its ambitious growth strategy to deliver 5,000 new urban and peri urban retirement homes by 2030. This includes a new chief financial officer, director of project management and technology director.

As chief financial officer, a newly created Board position at RVG, Hetal Trivedi will be primarily responsible for risk management, financial stewardship, optimising the Group’s profitability and helping to scale the business during an anticipated period of rapid growth.

Trivedi joins from The Crown Estate where he held the position of Head of Commercial Finance, and previously held senior roles at J Sainsbury plc, BT, Homebase and Grant Thornton.

In another strategic appointment, RVG has appointed Neal Haywood as director of project management, who will be supporting the development team in seeking to deliver the 40 new sites and 5,000 new homes over the next ten years.

Haywood will also be responsible for overseeing the quality, safety, and efficiency of each new community, as well as existing communities. He brings 30 years’ experience in the industry, from previous roles including Head of Construction at St Modwen Properties and as a contractor for some of the UK’s largest national and regional builders.

Additionally, Sam Gibson joins RVG as technology director to lead the launch of its new IT and tech strategy to enhance its business insights, empower high performing and connected teams, and enable closer relationships with customers. Gibson brings a wealth of experience in the real estate industry, having held senior IT positions in Crown House Engineering, Mace Group and Foster + Partners, and more recently, technology director at Mount Anvil and IT director at EcoWorld London.

Commenting on the new appointments, Will Bax, CEO of Retirement Villages Group, said: “The appointment of Hetal, Neal and Sam is a significant moment for our business and one that positions us strongly for what will be an ambitious period of growth in our 30-year history.

“They are completely aligned with supporting our vision of building communities and creating positive lifestyle choices for people who want to live life their way and are well positioned to drive the next phase of our exciting growth strategy.”