Countryside has announced its chief executive Ian Sutcliffe is to retire next year following a bumper year for the housebuilder.
He will be suceeded by Iain McPherson, head of the group’s partnerships south business, at the start of January.
Sutcliffe joined as group chief executive and executive chairman in 2013, he will step down from the board on 31 March 2020.
He said: “It has been a real privilege to lead Countryside for the past six years. It is a tremendous business with an incredibly talented workforce.”
In results for the year ended 30 September, it reported a surge in performance, with housing completions up 33%, driven by growth through of its partnerships.
It completed 5,733 homes and reported revenue of £1.4bn, up 16% on 2018.
Adjusted operating profit rose by 11% to £234.4m.
Partnerships made up 77% of total homes completed, against 23% under the housebuilding division.
The uptick was driven by a 47% surge in completions from its partnerships business. This saw 4,425 new homes, against 3,019 in 2018. Meanwhile, housebuilding completions rose 3% to 1,308.
Countryside starts the next financial year with a record order book, up 30% to £1.2bn, against £900m last year. Of this, £241m is for private sale, up 12% on last year.
Sutcliffe said the housebuilder had exceeded expectations in terms of operating margin, return on cash employed and cash generation.
Sutcliffe said: “Our differentiated partnerships division continues to go from strength to strength, while our housebuilding division is benefitting from operational efficiency and continued capital discipline to deliver improved returns.”
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