Bewley Homes has strengthened its land division with two senior director appointments as the housebuilder further expands into new regional territories.
Andrew Driscoll, 52, has joined as Western Land Director in a newly created position to support the expansion of Bewley’s territory west of Reading into Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and through to Bristol. Geoff France, 47 has been promoted to Eastern Land Director having been with the company for over seven years and will be responsible for growing the home counties land opportunities.
Andrew joins the award-winning south of England housebuilder in the wake of the company’s projected expansion plans which will see the company grow from £155m to £225m in three years. With over 25 years’ experience in housebuilding, Andrew has also held senior land roles at Bellway, Bloor and Crest Nicholson. Most recently, he was Director of Land at Platform Housing Group, one of the largest housing associations in the Midlands.
Andrew has extensive experience of the South West market and has worked for a number of years along the M4/M5 corridor. This appointment will enable the housebuilder to expand further into this region following its latest developments in Faringdon and North Leigh launched this year.
Geoff has over 25 years in the sector and has worked at Berkeley Homes, Laing and Bellway as a director, before joining Bewley Homes in 2014. Geoff has been at the core of the company’s growth in recent years and is well placed to support Bewley’s exciting plans going forward.
With a focus on buying land ranging on sites of approximately 40 to 500 units, Bewley Homes builds two storey homes or low-rise apartments located predominantly in towns, villages or rural locations throughout Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
Andrew, who will be working out of the company’s new Swindon office, said: “I’m delighted to be on board at Bewley. I have admired the company for a long time for its ambitious, forward thinking and reputation for old school values which goes a long way when buying land.”
“The opportunity to join Bewley at this stage was too good to pass up. The company has a 30 year track record with a reputation of building quality new homes. I’ve been very impressed with the company’s ambition and direction.”
Geoff France said: “Geoff France said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity play an important role in Bewley’s growth plans going forward. It’s an exciting time as we plan for growth in the next few years. We have a great team, fantastic product and a recognised brand in the South of England built up over 30 years.”
Andrew Brooks, Managing Director at Bewley Homes, said: “These are two very strong appointments, and it signals Bewley’s intentions to grow the business strongly in the coming years. Both Geoff and Andrew have extensive experience in the housebuilding sector and are tremendous additions to the growing land and planning teams.”
Andrew added: “Being a privately owned, well financed regional housebuilder with short chain of command means we can move quickly on land opportunities. We also have flexibility on how we structure a transaction which can suit a land owner. We are building a sustainable business and our reputation amongst our peers, agents and land owners is of paramount importance.”