Real estate giant appoints affordable housing chief

 

Jack Burnham will join Octopus Real Estate from Hertfordshire-based landlord Thrive Homes.

Mr Burnham had spent five years with the association as its executive director of growth and regeneration.

Octopus praised Mr Burnham for overseeing Thrive’s growth programme, which had delivered a forward development pipeline of more than 1,000 plots.

Mr Burnham has also previously worked for the Greater London Authority, as well as in a number of senior partnerships roles at two house builders.

In May, Octopus revealed that it had acquired a registered provider to help facilitate its move into the affordable housing sector. 

The real estate investor, which has more than £3.7bn in assets and secured lending, said at the time that it was also in discussions with several housing associations to develop affordable homes around England. 

It is part of the wider Octopus Group, which lists retail sustainable energy supplier Octopus Energy among its companies.

Mr Burnham said he was delighted to be joining the team at Octopus Real Estate.

He said: “I look forward to working with the Octopus team to build long-term, lasting partnerships with housing associations, contractors and developers to accelerate the delivery of much-needed affordable homes across the country, and I’m excited to see what we can achieve in the years ahead.”

Benjamin Davis, chief executive at Octopus, said he was pleased to bring Mr Burnham’s “significant experience” to his team, which would help the firm in delivering homes. 

He added: “This is a crucial time for the sector, with soaring cost of living and energy prices increasing the already pressing need for modern, energy-efficient, affordable housing.”