Housebuilder’s MD exits after nine months

The group managing director of Jeff Fairburn-backed housebuilder Avant Homes has left the business after nine months.

Alan Hopwood, who was appointed as a director last March, left the Chesterfield-based firm on 23 December, according to a Companies House filing.

Before joining Avant, Hopwood spent nearly 12 years at Persimmon, the FTSE-100 housebuilder led by Fairburn, until he stepped down following a media storm over his £75m bonus package in 2018.

An Avant spokesperson said Hopwood had retired from the business.

“He has left Avant Homes with a strong platform to achieve our growth plans,” the spokesperson added.

Hopwood was among a number of former Persimmon executives to join Avant Homes.

Richard Stenhouse, who spent 20 years at Persimmon, joined Avant as its chief financial officer last February, replacing Giles Sharp. And Don Anderson, a former Bellway and Persimmon executive, joined as managing director for the North East last March.

Avant, which employs around 700 people, operates in Scotland, the North East of England, Yorkshire and the Midlands.

Fairburn led a takeover of Avant with US hedge fund Elliott Investment Management in 2021 and was appointed Avant’s chair following the takeover.

Avant chief executive Mark Mitchell left the firm a year ago, having been promoted after the departure of former boss Colin Lewis. It is currently unclear if Mitchell has been replaced or what the full make-up of Avant’s executive team looks like. The Avant spokesperson said he was unable to provide clarification.

In its last reported full-year to the end of April 2021, Avant Homes Group reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £7.4m on revenue of £505.3m.