LONDON, UK: Inland Homes plc (AIM: INL), the brownfield developer, housebuilder and partnership housing company with a focus on the South and South East of England, has announced the appointment of Jolyon Harrison as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Jolyon has over 50 years of house building experience, including as CEO of MJ Gleeson plc, where he led the growth of its low cost homes business.
Inland Homes has also announced that it intends to invite Richard Padley to join its board as Non-executive Director, subject to regulatory due diligence. Richard is a chartered accountant and Commercial Director of G W Padley Holdings Limited, which has a stake in Inland Homes.
The company has also revealed that it has agreed Heads of Terms for the acquisition of NorthCountry Homes Limited (NorthCountry) for a consideration of £4m, to be settled by the issue of 40 million new ordinary shares in Inland Homes. NorthCountry is a low cost homes developer in the North of England, founded and chaired by Jolyon Harrison. The proposed acquisition is subject to various conditions, including shareholder and regulatory approvals, and the restoration to trading of Inland Homes’ existing shares on AIM.
The acquisition of NorthCountry will enable Inland Homes to expand its low cost homes business model in the North of England, while continuing to develop its brownfield and strategic land business in the South. The company plans to rebrand the business in due course to reflect its focus on housebuilding in the north of England.
Inland Homes also announced that Nishith Malde, who was one of the founding shareholders of the Group in 2005 and is currently Chief Financial Officer and Acting CEO, has advised the Board of his intention to retire and step down as a director, following an appropriate handover period. Nishith will remain available in an advisory capacity for a period of 12 months thereafter.
Matthew Robinson, Chair of Inland Homes, said: “Jolyon is a proven leader, with a strong track record of operational, strategic and commercial success in construction and property development. The whole Inland team looks forward to his contribution to this next stage of Inland’s corporate development.”
Jolyon Harrison, CEO of Inland Homes, said: “I am delighted to be joining Inland as CEO. Inland has a valuable consented land bank in the South and South East of England and has a number of similarities with where I was in 2009. We will be expanding the low cost homes business model of NorthCountry in the North of England, based in Wakefield, taking advantage of low Northern land values and developing the Inland brownfield and strategic land business in the South where land values are high, as well as completing Inland’s existing construction commitments. In due course it is proposed to rebrand the business to reflect its focus on housebuilding in the north of England. The Group will remain headquartered in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire for the foreseeable future. I look forward to the Inland team helping me to turn the business round which will take a while, but we are looking for long term sustainable growth.”