Mactaggart & Mickel Group has appointed Paul McAninch as its new chief executive, as it unveils a new growth strategy.
He steps into the role after seven years as group finance director, replacing Ed Monaghan, who retires after a career at the business spanning more than 40 years.
McAninch's new role comes with a new drive to invest in the UK-wide portfolios of strategic land and private rental property.
This will include growing the group’s English strategic land revenue by £33m over the next five years.
This year, Mactaggart & Mickel is aiming to invest £8m in new, energy efficient private rented homes, as part of a programme to increase the value of its portfolio from £71m to more than £100m by 2027.
The investment strategy follows the sale earlier this year of the group’s Scottish housebuilding and timber systems division to Springfield Properties, which should deliver £46m over the next five years. This is bolstered by a bank facility of £30m.
McAninch commented: “Since Mactaggart & Mickel was established in 1925, we have adapted as circumstances around us have changed - we remain strongly focused on delivering living spaces and communities where people can enjoy the best quality of life.
“However, we have seen how the property market is changing and our strong capitalised base and liquidity gives us the resources to invest in new opportunities.
“We are engaging in new partnerships to deliver high-quality homes for sale or rent in desirable locations across the UK.”
The group’s divisions include UK strategic land team, which has more than 80 developments totalling over 3,500 acres in England and a further 2,500 acres in Scotland. This team has doubled in size over the last 18 months and last year worked on sites with capacity to deliver over 18,000 new homes.
Mactaggart & Mickel also has a £71m portfolio of around 400 private rented properties in locations - including in London and Edinburgh - alongside future niche developments across the central belt of Scotland and joint venture interests such as its partnership in the 4,000 homes development at Shawfair, Edinburgh.
The investments division, chaired by McAninch since 2019, has invested in 74 companies with an asset value of £8.4m.
He added: “Our approach builds on our track record in areas where we have been active for some time.
“By working with local councils, house builders and communities, we can unlock capacity to deliver new homes where they are needed.”
McAninch retains his roles as a board member of Shawfair, non-executive director of property technology business iOPT and as an advisory committee member of the YFM Equity Partners Buy Out Fund I.
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