Andrew, who has held the role since October 2020, announced his departure on LinkedIn.

He wrote: “After a roller-coaster near four years in the world of modular housebuilding, I will be moving on to a new challenge.

“I wish my colleagues all the best moving forward and would like to express my personal gratitude for all their hard work and dedication.

“The team has achieved so much under some, let’s be honest, challenging circumstances — I look forward to sharing some news on my next challenge in due course.”

Prior to joining TopHat, Shepherd was CEO at Mid Group Limited, he has also held roles at Laing O’Rourke, Land Securities and Currie & Brown.

A spokesperson for TopHat confirmed to DFT the business is consulting with employees as “part of a programme to reduce the costs of the business in response to the prevailing challenging market”.

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The following statement was shared with DFT following Shepherd’s departure: “2023 was a challenging period for the housing sector at-large, where a tough inflationary climate coincided with supply chain disruption. And, as a newer industry, MMC has been hit harder still.

“Despite the growing understanding that volumetric modular is a key part of the solution to the housing crisis, we can’t yet see signs of the market coming back and have needed to take prudent action to ensure the business remains healthy, protected, and ready for the upturn when it comes. This has meant some scaling back, and some personnel losses in this period of restructuring.”

This restructuring comes despite TopHat raising £85m in 2023.

In April 2023, the firm secured £70m in investment from new and existing shareholders and in November that same year a £15m debt facility was gained from Homes England.