House builder Persimmon has recruited the chief operating officer of for-profit provider Sage Homes to be its new UK managing director.
Iain McPherson will join Persimmon next year (picture: Persimmon)
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Iain McPherson, who is also the former chief executive of Countryside, will join the FTSE 100 firm in January.
Persimmon said on Thursday that Mr McPherson will work with a team of regional chairs to “drive quality and service improvements”.
He also held senior roles at Crest Nicholson and G15 housing association Hyde, before joining Blackstone-backed Sage Homes in 2022.
Sage owns two for-profit registered providers, Sage Rented and Sage Homes RP, which together recorded combined losses of £44.6m in 2023.
In August, Sage sold 3,000 shared ownership homes to USS, the UK’s largest private pension fund, in a £405m deal.
At Persimmon, Mr McPherson will be replacing Paul Hurst, who is stepping down at the end of 2024 after 28 years at the builder.
Dean Finch, group chief executive at Persimmon, said: “Iain has significant breadth and depth of experience, including as chief executive of Countryside, and will complement our existing senior management team.
“I look forward to working with him in the coming years to continue driving our growth plans and quality and customer service improvements.”
Mr McPherson said: “In my current role, I have worked directly with Persimmon and have seen the progress they have made in recent years first-hand. I look forward to working with colleagues to maintain and build on this progress.”
In August, Persimmon revealed that it had written off its £25m investment in TopHat, the modular builder that is now in the process of winding down.
In a trading update for the half year to 30 June 2024, Persimmon reported 703 homes delivered for association partners, down on 968 in the previous year.
The firm’s new housing revenue stood at £1.17bn as it delivered 4,445 homes in the reported period.
Its gross profit increased more than £20m to £258.4m, which included a £23m charge in relation to the cost of removing combustible cladding, as well as other fire-related remediation works.
Persimmon’s margin and operating profit were both flat on the previous year at 13% and £152.2m respectively.
Picture: Alamy