Gleeson appoints former Avant MD to be Midlands sales director

Gleeson Homes has appointed Alistair Hart as regional sales director for the Midlands in a newly created role.

He joins the affordable housebuilder from Avant Homes, where he spent just over a year.

Hart spent 20 years working at estate agencies, before moving to Persimmon Homes where he supported the opening of the South Yorkshire region, five years ago. He then moved to Avant Homes last year, where he was managing director for the Yorkshire region.

At Gleeson, Hart’s role will be to develop the Midlands sales teams. 

“I look forward to leveraging my experience and a process-driven approach to sales, ensuring we grow volumes at a good rate despite the challenging market,” Hart said in a statement, adding he was “excited to get stuck in”.

Mark Knight, chief executive of Gleeson Homes, said in a statement: “The Midlands is a high opportunity region for us, and his experience will be crucial in developing the team, driving sales and supporting its expansion. 

“I look forward to working with him as we continue to provide high quality affordable homes for those who need them most and in the areas they are needed most across the UK.”

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Last week Housing Today reported that Gleeson was exploring the potential to move into partnerships with the promotion of Helen Randerson to partnerships director. 

Listed firm MJ Gleeson, which has historically sold houses predominantly to first time buyers, said in a trading update in June that sales were down 14%. 

It sold 1,723 homes in the year to June 2023, down from 2,000 the year before.

In February, the £347m turnover business announced it was cutting around 15% of roles at the start of the year to make its operations “leaner”. 

The MJ Gleeson group is led by chief executive Graham Prothero who took over following the departure of long-time boss James Thomson in 2022.