CEO of housebuilder MJ Gleeson to step down in December with successor already named

Mr Thomson was appointed in 2019 with a remit of implementing cultural and structural changes needed to ensure that the company delivered its strategic objectives over the medium term.

Having delivered those changes, Mr Thomson now wishes to stand down as CEO and will become a non-executive director instead on January 1, 2023.

He said: "We have achieved much over the last three years, during which time I have been supported by a strong and talented team of colleagues.

“Gleeson is now even better-placed to deliver the quality low-cost homes our country urgently needs.

“I am delighted to have been asked to remain on the board when I step down as CEO at the end of the year and, in the meantime, remain fully focused on delivering the results for the current financial year and ensuring that the business continues to perform into 2023."

Mr Prothero joined the board of Vistry and was appointed COO in January 2020 following the acquisition by Bovis Homes Group of Galliford Try's housing businesses.

He was formerly chief executive of Galliford Try from 2019, having previously served as finance director since 2013.

Mr Prothero said: "I am very much looking forward to taking up my new role at MJ Gleeson. I have watched the company's progress over the years and long admired the delivery of its focused strategy.

“It is rare to find a business that genuinely enhances people's well-being in the way that Gleeson does. I am excited to take on a key role in a business that is an impressive growth story with the inspiring purpose of ‘Building Homes. Changing Lives’."

The Sheffield-based firm’s chairman Dermot Gleeson said he was “delighted” to secure Mr Prothero as its next CEO.

He added: “His outstanding track record and experience in housebuilding make him the ideal choice to lead the Group in the next phase of its development.

“I am also delighted that James has agreed to remain on the board as a non-executive director, where we will continue to benefit from his knowledge of the company and industry."