Legal & General Affordable Homes (LGAH) has appointed Chris Hewitt as CFO as the company aims for rapid growth. LGAH aims to increase its completions from around 1,000 to 3,000 by 2025 and increase annual operating profit from £30 million to £100 million over the same period. The current pipeline covers approximately 7,000 households. The for-profit supplier, which aims to triple its turnover from £250 million to £775 million by 2025, has hired Hewitt to replace Georgina Scott as permanent CFO. Scott left LGAH last summer to become CFO of Earls Court Development Company, a joint venture between Transport for London and Delancey. M. Hewitt said: “Institutional capital plays an important role in meeting the need for affordable housing, and there is tremendous opportunity for LGAH to expand in the coming years. In November, CEO Ben Denton said LGAH wants to build a greater proportion of homes directly in-house, including through its sister company L&G Modular Homes. Working with the CEO, the CFO will not only be an outstanding financial expert, but will also be commercially aware and advise on the best growth path for the company. The CFO actively participates in all important business decisions to ensure that immediate and long-term impacts, opportunities and risks are fully considered and aligned with the company`s strategy. Legal & General Affordable Homes focuses on supporting the UK`s demographic and affordable housing needs and is part of Legal & General`s growth strategy for housing, leading the development of the affordable housing sector with the aim of becoming the UK`s leading private provider of affordable housing. Working with developers, housing associations and public institutions across the country, L&G Affordable Homes finances the construction of affordable housing and brings institutional capital to the social housing sector, with the primary target markets being affordable rents, shared ownership and rents. We believe that the pride and dedication of our employees is the key to our success.
By ensuring exceptional levels of care and quality, we aim to become the leading provider of world-class affordable housing and ensure the highest quality of the customer journey. Ben Denton, Managing Director of LGAH, said, “Chris` appointment will support the company`s continued growth and demonstrates our commitment to deploying large-scale institutional capital in this sector to provide the volume of affordable housing the company desperately needs.” Simon`s career includes residential real estate, corporate finance and business strategy. He came from affordable housing provider bpha, where he was responsible for the company`s strategy and financing as a board member. Prior to bpha, Simon worked for the advisory and investment firm TradeRisks, advising clients in the infrastructure and quasi-government sectors. Simon Century joined Legal & General in 2016. As Managing Director of Housing, Simon is responsible for leading direct investments in L&G`s long-term residential real estate sector. In 2018, he founded Legal & General Affordable Homes, Legal & General`s wholly-owned affordable housing company, and in 2020, Legal & General`s new single-family home. In addition, he is responsible for L&G`s growing core investment portfolio in other residential platforms, including L&G`s investments in the Urban Build to Rent and Later Living segments.
LGAH typically buys affordable rental and residential communities in new developments through Section 106 planning agreements and then retains ownership of them, with the stock managed by its 14 managing partners, primarily housing associations.