Persimmon Homes’ first and newly appointed Regional Managing Director for Wales, has immediately revealed a £800 million strategic plan to build 5,000 new homes across Wales which, based on Government estimates, will support and create in the order of 10,000 jobs in the associated supply chain in addition to providing the much needed new homes.
Glyn Mabey, a career housing professional, and a rare breed in the industry holding an honours degree in Housing, has over 25 years of experience in residential development, and is now responsible for Persimmon’s operating companies in East and West Wales, along with the Charles Church and Westbury Partnership brands.
During his career, Glyn has been responsible for major greenfield development projects, through to multi-storey complex apartment schemes on brownfield city centre sites. He has experience of developing both through both privately financed projects and partnerships with local authorities
The former Beazer Homes, Swan Hill and Redrow director will aim to grow Persimmon’s East and West Wales regions and confirmed that a new head office for the West Wales region would be opening shortly in or around the Swansea area – it is believed this move would see Persimmon become the first housing PLC to make such an investment in West Wales.
Glyn commented on the expansion into West Wales: “The greater Swansea conurbation is certainly one we will be targeting, while maintaining our presence in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and other areas of the region. This expansion will be in addition to our already strong presence in East Wales which we will continue to grow. We want to be very active in these areas and become part of the fabric of the communities in which we work.”
Glyn, referred to as ‘Mr Wales’ at Persimmon for his strong connections with the country, being born and bred in Aberdare, is a proud and passionate Welshman. However he believes there is a need for a step change in Welsh political attitude to development. He said: “Having covered both England and Wales in my career I remember a time when Welsh Local Authorities and politicians were hugely proactive, creative and welcomed development with open arms, recognising the wider economic benefits it brought and the wealth creation generated by the economic activity. “
“We need to get back to that and Politicians and Officers need to show leadership and bravery to kick down hurdles preventing development from happening, rather than constantly allowing new layers of regulation and bureaucracy which slows everything down. I want Wales to be thriving and prosperous and yet there are now parts of Wales which are nigh on unviable to develop and these areas are desperate for regeneration and jobs. That can’t be sensible, can’t be good politics, and can’t be good for Wales. I will be looking to work closely with Welsh politicians around the issues of land, development and planning to see what we can do to help but they must recognise they have a massive role to play and indeed need to lead the way.”
“I do believe that we are a misunderstood and undervalued industry in the eyes of politicians. We are a source of employment creation that can’t be exported to another country and hence we are a great job creation asset for the country and our product really is ‘MADE IN WALES’. Aside from providing homes for a great number of people, which is important in its own right, we create a huge number of jobs on site and through our supply chain. The more we do the more jobs we create. It really is that simple”
On Persimmon Glyn said that his first impressions of Persimmon since taking the helm had been hugely positive.
“What struck me was the size of the Persimmon Group, the sheer financial strength of it and the passion to grow the business. To come out of a recession entirely debt free is staggering and a fact that will work in our favour in the land market, allowing us to grow the business without being unduly affected by the well known problems facing those who need to raise development loan finance. We just need banks and politicians to sort out the mortgage market which is certainly a drag on the industry albeit the housing market is actually showing itself to be remarkably resilient”
“We are confident in the Welsh market and having secured land with a development value approaching £100m in the last few months and with projects of a similar value currently being worked on, we can assure people that we have the financial strength to follow through on our land acquisition programme, almost without limitation on scale, which not many companies can claim at the moment.”
Persimmon’s operating company Director in Charge - Andy Baker-Edwards (West Wales) and Managing Director - Steve Williams (East Wales) will continue to run their respective area operations reporting to Glyn under the group’s new structure.
