News

David Pretty, one of the British housebuilding industry’s best-known figures, has been appointed to the Board of retirement specialists McCarthy & Stone.

Mr Pretty takes up the post of non-executive director following his own retirement as Chief Executive of the housebuilding giant Barratt.

He brings with him a wealth of experience gained over almost 40 years in the industry, especially in areas of urban regeneration, marketing, land acquisition and product diversity . He is current holder of the UK “Regeneration Champion of the Year” award.

“McCarthy & Stone is a great company with a solid base, enviable track record and leadership in its marketplace,” he said. “Since it went into private ownership the new stakeholders are keen to build on this success and see the company grow even further. We are in this for the long haul.” 

McCarthy & Stone is Britain’s largest builder of private sheltered housing, currently providing around two-thirds of the nation’s new stock. It specialises in conventional manager-assisted retirement apartments for the active over-60s, but has recently seen a sharp growth in demand for its Assisted Living developments, which offer a higher level of care including restaurant meals.

Mr Pretty said: “The number of McCarthy & Stone residents who say their move was the best they have ever made is a great credit to the company and has earned it the highest level of customer satisfaction in the industry.

“The team’s job is to spread that message to an even wider audience – while making sure that there is a large enough supply of retirement properties to satisfy increasing demand in the fastest-growing sector of the population.”

Howard Phillips, Chief Executive of McCarthy & Stone, said: “We are privileged to have a man of David’s stature on board. The diverse and highly successful Barratt we see today is in no small part a product of his visionary approach to housing and his passion for the housebuilding industry.

“I have no doubt that his talents will be of enormous value to McCarthy & Stone in this exciting period since the company went into private ownership.”

Another Board appointment was announced this week: John P. McCarthy (unrelated to the company’s founder), Managing Director of Lehman Brothers Real Estate Private Equity Group, will join as a non-executive director representing various subsidiary investors in McCarthy & Stone Ltd.

McCarthy & Stone was delisted from the stockmarket at the end of last year following a £1.1bn consortium bid – at the time the biggest takeover in the history of the British housebuilding industry.

The principal stakeholders remain HBOS, Aldersgate (The Reuben Brothers) and West Coast Capital (Sir Tom Hunter). David Pretty and the new non-executive Chairman, Geoff Ball, who is also Executive Chairman of Cala Homes, act as independent non-executive directors.