Hayfield Bolsters Its Team With Planning Manager Appointment

Hayfield has recruited Katie Christou as a Planning Manager to expand the five-star housebuilder’s specialist in-house Planning team. The Solihull-headquartered company is gearing up to deliver 500 luxury homes per annum across middle England.

Katie Christou joins from Milton Keynes-based David Lock Associates, where she was based for eight years. Her management experience spans the entire planning process, from site promotion to development implementation. Katie has worked on a national basis for a number of PLC and privately owned housebuilders, as well as land promoters.

Mark Gay, Planning Director for Hayfield said: “We are bringing forward some fantastic development sites by following a holistic design-led approach, maximising upon planning opportunities whilst working alongside landowners, agents and Local Authority Planning Officers. This key appointment will enable us to further strengthen this position.

“Bringing Katie Christou on board as a Planning Manager is a reflection of the number of sites we now have going through the planning process at any one time and an acknowledgement of the importance positive planning can have upon adding real value to development opportunities.”

Hayfield has recently invested over £22m in land, with over 250 plots currently under construction across the counties of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The company also has a number of sites that are either newly acquired, or in solicitors’ hands, which are set to deliver a further 271 eco-friendly executive family homes in prime semi-rural and edge of town settings.

Katie Christou, Planning Manager for Hayfield said: “I am thrilled to be joining a housebuilder that places such high importance on design and sustainability. Hayfield’s recent growth is really impressive, and I am delighted to be working in-house, where I can have a continuous input on a number of prestigious sites, as they are progressed through the planning system.”  

Hayfield’s growth has been fuelled by £85m of equity and debt funding, which has enabled the five-year old housebuilder to acquire a significant land bank. A £50m senior debt site acquisition facility, together with rolling development funding, is provided by OakNorth Bank plc. In addition, a prominent Dubai-based family office private investor – with over 30 years’ property development experience in the UK and internationally – has provided a £35m rolling equity facility.

Hayfield won Gold and Bronze accolades at the 2020 WhatHouse? Awards and has also received three Pride in the Job NHBC Awards.

For more information on Hayfield’s development portfolio, visit: https://www.hayfieldhomes.co.uk/