28th February 2022
Triple boost for McCarthy Stone’s land team as it seeks 60 new sites in 2022
The UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities, McCarthy Stone, has boosted its land team with three new senior appointments. They will help the company invest more than £200m in buying 65 or more new sites in 2022.
James Hanna has joined as Land Director in McCarthy Stone’s Special Projects team. James will be responsible for leading land activities connected with the development of new initiatives. These new concepts aim to broaden the market reach of the business and support the growth of McCarthy Stone. James previously spent ten years working in land teams in the supermarket sector, including at both Lidl and more recently Aldi, where he was responsible for their mixed-use development arm and also corporate acquisitions from organisations such as Waitrose and the Co-op.
Phil Isherwood has joined as Land Director for the Midlands. Phil has worked in senior property development roles for the past 10 years including as Property Director for Aldi, where he spent six years covering Scotland and the Northwest, and four years working in the land acquisition team at McDonald’s. Phil will cover both the East and West Midlands.
Finally, Gareth Owen has re-joined McCarthy Stone as Land Director for the North, having previously worked for the company. Gareth has held senior land roles for over 25 years, more recently spending 2 years as Land & Partnerships Director for Keepmoat Homes, and prior to this, he spent two years as Land Director for McCarthy Stone and 14 years Land & Planning Director at Taylor Wimpey. Gareth will be responsible for driving land acquisition across the Northwest, Northeast and Yorkshire.
John Tonkiss, Chief Executive, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Phil, Gareth and James to the business. With our existing land team around the UK, they will help us buy more sites for high-quality and well-located retirement communities. Their extensive experience in buying town centre, brownfield land is exactly what we need as we seek to bring life back to local high streets through our developments and help older people remain independent, safe and well-connected in their own home. We need new land, and lots of it, in order to satisfy growing demand for this important form of housing.”
McCarthy Stone is predicting a strong increase in the demand for retirement living, given that those aged 65+ are set to grow by c.5 million people in the next 20 years. It currently has 475 existing communities under management.
It will be seeking to buy 60 new sites to complement the company’s existing workflow, having purchased more than 200 sites over the last four years. The new sites must be located on central brownfield (previously developed) locations, close to town centres and local amenities where customers wish to live. A typical site will be between 0.5 to 5 acres, ideally in a prominent location with level access.
Generous commissions are available for the right site. To find out more, please go to mccarthyandstone.co.uk/we-buy-land. New site introductions can be submitted directly via email to [email protected].
