A new chief executive of the two merging landlord associations, the National Landlords Association and the Residential Landlords Association, has been announced.

He is Ben Beadle, currently director of operations at property manager Touchstone and previously managing director of TDS Northern Ireland and director of customer service at the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

He will join in November ahead of the official launch of the NRLA in January.

Members backed the creation of the National Residential Landlords Association last week.

Beadle told EYE that he was informed about the vacancy by a recruitment consultant a few months ago.

He said: “My initial focus will be bringing the two organisations together and increasing our membership and voice.

“There is a poor view of landlords from the outside looking in. I want to dispel some of the negativity and get out some positive messages.”

The current chief executives – Richard Lambert, of the NLA, and regarded as an industry big-hitter, and Andrew Dixon, who only joined the RLA last year – are to leave at the end of the year.

The respective chairs of the NLA and RLA, Adrian Jeakins and Alan Ward, both paid tribute to their outgoing chief executives.

They also welcomed Beadle to his role, saying: “Ben has a depth and breadth of knowledge of private renting which will be a tremendous asset to our campaigning and members’ services.”

Lambert, who has been chief executive of the NLA since 2011, told EYE he had also applied for the job.

He added: “Different organisations need different things from their CEO at different stages of their development, and it became clear to me over the recruitment and interview process that they were looking for someone with a slightly different skill set and emphasis.

“I’m happy that the decision is the right one for me and for the NRLA, and I wish Ben every success in the role.

“I’ve greatly enjoyed the eight years I’ve spent representing landlords and leading the development of the NLA. Now it’s time for me to look to new challenges and opportunities.”

Below, Ben Beadle