It hasn’t been all doom and gloom.
In April troubled housebuilder Bovis Homes shocked the industry by tempting veteran Greg Fitzgerald (pictured) out of retirement and appointing him as its new chief executive. Fitzgerald had been at Galliford Try for 33 years.
At the Building Awards in November, Gleeds chairman Richard Steer was crowned Personality of the Year, recognising him for growing turnover from £31m to £189m, UK headcount from 480 to 2,000 and global offices from less than 10 to 68 since joining in 1981.
The CEO of the Year prize was won by Turner & Townsend boss Vince Clancy, who this year led the consultant to an 18% surge in revenue to £445.6m, with profit rising from £39.1m to £47m. He also oversaw the acquisition of project management firm Trestle, consultancy Suiko and asset management firm AMCL.
Housebuilders enjoyed some cheer in the autumn Budget as the government attempted to solve the housing crisis. It announced investment of £15bn to boost the market, with £44bn in total to be spent over the next five years to boost the number of houses built each year to 300,000 by the mid-2020s.
No comments yet