New Homes Ombudsman appoints Nigel Cates a chief
The New Homes Ombudsman (NHO) has appointed Nigel Cates as its new chief ombudsman, replacing Alison MacDougall who retired in August.
Cates is a highly experienced leader, who has considerable experience at senior level in financial services, including of complaint handling both at HSBC bank, the Financial Ombudsman Service, and prior to that on consumer and competition matters at the Office of Fair Trading.
The NHO says Cates joins the organisation at a critical time for the housing sector, with the government’s commitment to 1.5 million new homes needing to be matched by action to ensure their quality.
NHOS is part of The Dispute Service Group, the country’s leading tenancy deposit and dispute resolution service provider.
Jodi Berg OBE, Chair of the NHOS Board, said: “We are excited to have Nigel lead this increasingly important service. Not only does he bring significant and relevant experience to the table, but his career has involved substantial senior level representation across the public, private and not for profit sectors. We look forward to welcoming him to our team at NHOS and to the TDS Group at large.”
Cates added: “With the government committed to an ambitious programme of new house building, there is a growing recognition that the service should be moved onto a statutory footing to ensure that all new homeowners have access if needed to a first-rate ombudsman service. I look forward to building on the success to date of NHOS and to working with the New Homes Quality Board and developers to further improve the standard of new housing across the UK.”
Gemma Gibson rejoins LRG as shared ownership resales manager for SOWN
Gemma Gibson has re-joined Leaders Romans Group and taken up a position within SOWN as shared ownership resales manager, based in Maidenhead.
Gibson works on behalf of housing providers and those who have bought shared ownership properties and who are looking to sell.
Her role involves working across the whole of the country with the leaseholder looking to sell their share. This can be as part of the ‘Nomination Period’ of shared ownership or beyond. This role entails overseeing the entire sales process; from setting up marketing to updating the seller regularly, organising buyers to be financial assessed as eligible for shared ownership and arranging viewings until the property is sold.
SOWN already works with a number of housing providers, helping reduce their workload and uplifting the number of sellers able to find a new, eligible shared ownership buyer.
Previously, Gibson was a sales manager of Romans in Maidenhead from 2010-2019 and worked for Mortgage Required as a new business coordinator from May 2019 until April 2024.
Peter Hawley, director of SOWN (part of Leaders Romans Group), said: “Just as the shared ownership market is growing exponentially, so is our resales team. It’s an exciting time both for the shared ownership market generally and for our growing team. Gemma’s background provides her with the ideal skillset and she has already made a fantastic start in the role.”
CBRE appoints Tej Singh as head of Southampton Office
CBRE has announced Tej Singh as the new head of its Southampton office. He takes on the role from 1st October 2024.
Singh succeeds James Brounger, who will move to a new role focusing on client management and major pursuits across the South Coast, as well as continuing to support with the overall growth of the Midlands and South business.
Singh joined CBRE Southampton in 2014, where he has worked with investors, developers, lenders, local authorities and occupiers across the UK and the south coast. He was promoted to Director in 2019.
He said: “The real estate market on the south coast has fantastic potential and I look forward to continuing to work with our talented colleagues across all services to deliver exceptional client outcomes.”
Brounger has led CBRE Southampton for 14 years and will remain based in Southampton, continuing to work with clients alongside his new role.
He commented: “It has been a privilege to lead the Southampton office and I am proud of all we have achieved. Tej has an impressive track record in the local market and with our clients, and I have no doubt he will be an outstanding successor.”