The newly formed organisation between major Japanese housebuilder Sekisui House, Homes England and Urban Splash has hired Claire Kober (pictured above) and Mark Shirburne-Davies as independent director and chair of the board, and director, respectively.  

Claire — who has served at a senior level across local and national government — is also the MD of Homes at the Pinnacle Group, where she is responsible for managing a portfolio of 24,000 mixed-tenure homes across the UK. 

She is set to help House by Urban Splash upscale its creation of homes using modern methods of construction (MMC). 

“I have a huge interest in housing and there’s significant synergy between the work being done by House and my own passion for addressing the UK’s housing crisis,” said Claire. 

“I am impressed by the company’s pioneering attitude [and] innovative approach, and hope to lend my experience and insight to the organisation moving forward.” 

Homes England interim chair, Simon Dudley, added: “We’ve long said we’ll disrupt the housing market to increase the pace of construction, and we’ve done just that by helping to bring Japan’s biggest housebuilder to UK shores to form a dynamic partnership with a leading SME builder.  

“In Claire, House now has a highly experienced political and business operator at the helm and we look forward to seeing the organisation’s next steps to make homes happen.” 

Mark will oversee the delivery of over 400 new homes at the Northstowe new town in Cambridgeshire.  

Mark was previously construction director at Argent Related and COO for developer Pegasus Life. 

He is set to apply his knowledge of MMC in Northstowe as House begins to deliver its first modular homes in the spring. 

Kenta Konishi, chief executive at Sekisui House in the UK, stated: “As we bring our own new ideas to the UK, it’s important we collaborate with people already well experienced in the market to help us achieve our House objectives.  

“We look forward to learning from Claire and Mark’s track records in handling the challenges and complexities of the sector.” 

Tom Bloxham, group chairman at Urban Splash, added: “We are thrilled to bring Claire and Mark’s skills into our House business; Claire is a strong advocate for change and championing new ideas — something which will help us develop and make our homes accessible to more people — while Mark’s international expertise will help us deliver an impressive new town for Cambridgeshire.”