GLEESON LAND - Key Persons
I have worked in the property industry for 16 years with the last 12 years in land. My land experience started with Banner Homes, a medium sized high-end housebuilder, on schemes from 3 to 60 homes. I then continued this with Cala Homes, one of the UK's leading large housebuilders, acquiring and overseeing sites ranging from 50 homes to complex mixed use schemes with 600+ homes and multiple stakeholders.
At Gleeson Land I am a part of the Land Team with a focus on identifying and assessing land suitable for development. I then working collaboratively with the landowners and their representatives to enter into agreements that ensure our aspirations are aligned in the pursuit of planning permission and ultimately the successful sale of their land.
Job Titles:
- Graduate Land and Planning Analyst
Ben Brody Graduate Land and Planning Analyst Being part of the research and analysis team, my role includes building and maintaining our database of land and planning intelligence. Our database, linked to Geographical Information Systems (GIS), analyses and tracks key demographic, the housing market and economic indicators and provides our planning and land teams with clear and timely insight to maximise planning success and value for our clients. I recently joined from Kingston University London, completing my BSc in Geography and having the honour to work as an academic mentor in GIS, human geography and some physical geography for two years, where I aided with the teaching and delivery of academic content whilst being a student myself. In my spare time, as many in the office already know, I am a Fulham fan (COYW!) and go to all the home games and many away games. Once a year I indulge in the enjoyment of the Eurovision Song Contest, despite the ‘nil points' most years.
My role includes assessing new sites for development potential, promoting sites for development, preparing and managing planning applications and our consultant teams to deliver implementable and valuable planning permissions for landowners.
I began my planning career in Local Authority before working within the house building sector and Homes England. I have gathered a wide range of knowledge across both the public and private sectors, having worked in the industry for over 15 years. I hold a BSc (Hons) in Geography and a MSc in Spatial Planning. I am a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
In my spare time I am an Arsenal supporter and try to stay healthy in the gym and by playing cricket
I work within the Technical team assisting the Land and Planning teams in delivering planning approved sites that are well thought out, realistically achievable, and investigated thoroughly. I also create Land Registry compliant legal boundary plans and have even done some layout designing for our office renovations!
After finishing my A-Levels I went straight into the working world as a brand ambassador for SONY at expos in London and worked in retail for a short stint before making the move into the construction industry with a five star housebuilder. Here I gained valuable experience as I trained in all departments from land buying, site management and technical to surveying, material procurement and even customer care. Whilst learning on the job I also went to college and earned a HND in Construction and the Built Environment.
I love football - I play between 2-4 times a week & support Chelsea FC (que the boos!). I also enjoy being creative, whether that is making music or livestreaming with friends. My favourite thing to do however is spend time with my Son on the weekends.
Job Titles:
- Head of Research and Analytics
As Head of Research and Analytics, I oversee our team of land and planning analysists, who use the latest analytical software to harness the power of data to provide our planning and land teams with clear and timely insight to maximise planning success and value for our clients.
Prior to Gleeson Land, I was a Director at Nexus Planning Ltd where I led the research and analytics team and advised a range of developers and housebuilders on planning, housing, demographic, socioeconomic and infrastructure capacity matters. Before Nexus Planning, I was a town planner at the Department for Communities and Local Government and before that a regional planner at the South East England Regional Assembly / South East England Partnership Board.
I hold a BA(Hons) in Planning Studies and a Diploma Town Planning from Sheffield Hallam University. I am a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
Away from the office, when not being kept busy by my young sons or cocker spaniel, I try to find time for a spot of microbrewing, and the occasional run (weather permitting).
I joined Gleeson as Managing Director of Gleeson Land in January of 2023.
I was attracted to the Gleeson plc company because of its superb heritage, success in delivering long term residential planning consents and desire to grow.
We have an exceptionally high calibre team which I am privileged to be part of.
I am a land person through and through, having started my career as a Land Buyer at Laing Homes straight out of University with an Honours Degree in Residential Development.
I went on to work as Land Director for Beechcroft Developments and Crest Nicolson before joining St Modwen Properties where I held a number of senior management posts over a 15 year period including Managing Director of St Modwen Homes, Group Residential Director and most recently Managing Director for their Strategic Land and Regeneration division.
I am passionate about delivering sustainable schemes that serve both our landowners and agents as well as our clients who will be developing the land.
As a Land Technician I am responsible for identifying new opportunities for development and supporting the land team. Part of my role is to create informative tables using data we have collected. Using this I create detailed GIS maps plotting the data. I am also a member of the G-Life wellbeing committee.
In 2021, I graduated from the University of the West of England with a degree in Geography, I really enjoyed the diversity of the course and here I found my interest in redevelopment. I also worked part-time as a Bartender and a Lifeguard.
In my spare time I enjoy going to the gym (and then talking about it all the time). I also ‘play' for a Sunday league team where I have been told that I try very hard…
I previously worked at a Regional Housebuilder for 2 and a half years, looking to acquire both strategic and immediate opportunities. Strategic land is something I am passionate about and wanted to focus on, so the opportunity to work for Gleeson Land aligned perfectly with this vision.
I am part the Land Team and our responsibility to is source new opportunities for future development. We are passionate about working with landowners and their Agents to identify land that has potential for development. We can then work together to enter into mutually beneficial agreements that enable my planning colleagues to promote the land through the planning process.
I started my career at Welbeck Land preparing development appraisals and very quickly discovered a passion for strategic land. I was able to join the team responsible for the running the Strategic Land fund and spent 3 years promoting greenfield land for development in the Home Counties, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. I then joined Berkeley Homes, one of the UK's leading housebuilders, and spent 7 years acquiring and promoting strategic land sites ranging from 100 new homes to 2,000 new homes.
I have a MSc in Real Estate from Cass Business School and a BA in Philosophy from King's College London.
As Finance Director for Gleeson Land I work closely with Guy Gusterson, the Gleeson Land MD, and the team in Fleet to drive the operational performance, growth and results of the business. My role is to provide the financial information needed for accurate decision making, including managing risk and reporting performance, as well as helping to shape the future growth of the business.
I'm also the Group Financial Controller of MJ Gleeson plc and lead the Group Finance team reporting to the CFO. My team is responsible for the external financial reporting of the Group, including producing the Annual Report, as well as Group tax matters, Board level budgets and forecasts, and managing bank relationships and compliance.
I joined Gleeson in October 2016 having working in professional practice with PwC from 2004, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 2007. Prior to that, I worked as a mechanical engineer for a manufacturing company, qualifying as a Chartered Engineer in 2004 - so I like to think I am not "just another accountant!"
Outside of work, I have an busy lifestyle looking after our three young boys and trying to fit in some running when time allows. I'm also a keen road cycling fan, although I spend more time watching these days than I do riding!
I'm part of the Land Team with responsibility for sourcing opportunities for future development. This is achieved through a mix of direct approach to landowners and through our network of Agents. Once a site is identified and headline terms agreed with the owner, I oversee the legal steps required to formalise the agreement.
I have over 30 years' experience working in the property industry, including seven years working in Hong Kong. Prior to joining Gleeson Land I worked for Barratt Homes for 14 years, the last five years as the Land Director for their southern counties division. I have a BSc Honours degree in Estate Management from the University of Reading.
During my time in the industry I have worked through the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the 2008 property market crash, the immediate aftershock of Brexit in 2016 and latterly the impact of COVID. Somehow the world of property always manages to bounce back.
I am very excited to have taken on the role of senior land manager at Gleeson Land. I will be overseeing our central England operating area alongside fantastic colleagues in the land, planning, technical and analytics teams. With a focus on growing our strong track record of delivering quality outcomes for our landowner partners, my time will be spent sourcing new strategic land opportunities where our expertise can be utilised. I will also be working with the teams on existing projects in the portfolio as we bring these through the planning process and toward an eventual sale.
Having completed a degree in human geography and economics at Swansea university, I began my career at St. Modwen as their first graduate surveyor. Over a ten-year period with the company, where I was able to undertake my part-time master's in real estate management and complete training to become a chartered surveyor, I was exposed to a multitude of sites, sectors and objectives. These included the valuation of assets within our company portfolio, the negotiation of tenancies on various commercial and agricultural sites, and the sale of land to housebuilders. However, a passion of sourcing, securing and promoting strategic land became clear over time and I was able to really apply myself to this area, resulting in the successful acquisition of multiple opportunities ranging in size from 300 - 2,000 homes.
With a young family, trips to the rock bar have become fewer and further between! Instead, I am fully embracing visits to the park, swimming pool and various museums around Oxford in my spare time. We have been fortunate to find a spectacular t-rex skeleton at the natural history museum which satisfies my eldest sons current love of dinosaurs!
With my wife being Italian, I am once a week undertaking lessons to improve my ability to discuss the intricacies of political events and the renaissance era with her family when we visit. After 5 years, I feel confident enough to order the coffee.
Job Titles:
- Graduate Land and Planning Analyst
I am responsible for providing our planning and land teams with clear and timely insight to maximise planning success and value for our clients. Utilising Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and other analytical software, I analyse and track key demographic, the housing market, and economic indicators to help identify new development opportunities, but also ensure existing sites within our portfolio are brought forward at the optimum point in time to secure planning approval.
I have recently graduated from the University of Brighton with a BSc in Geography. Throughout this course I developed a keen interest in Geographical Information Systems, focusing on site suitability analysis. Throughout university, I worked part-time as a Customer Delivery Driver. Before this, I had several years of experience working in the Education sector
Outside of work, I enjoy watching Formula 1 and pretending I know how to cook. Although truthfully, I seem to spend most of my spare time assembling flat-pack furniture I was unaware was being ordered.
I've been working at Gleeson Land for approaching four years as a Planning Manager. The key role in my job is managing projects through the planning system, to ultimately delivering planning consents for our landowners.
I assess all the technical aspects of site acquisition and providing planning support on matters such as ground conditions, highways, drainage and utility provision.
I have 25 years' experience in the residential development industry having worked with a number of plc housebuilders in technical and engineering roles on a wide variety of brownfield, greenfield and regeneration schemes.
In my spare time I like running, cycling and paddleboarding off the coast of South Devon or seeking out new craft beer bars, beer festivals and brewery taprooms.
Job Titles:
- Personal Assistant to the Managing Director
I joined Gleeson Land in May 2023. My role is Personal Assistant to the Managing Director, but I also provide secretarial support to the wider Gleeson Land Team.
For the past 12 years, I have worked in the education sector: seven years in primary education and the last five years as PA to the Headteacher & Clerk to the Governors at a local secondary school. My experience stretches across multiple industries including Technology, Telecommunications, Education and now Land Promotion.
In my spare time I enjoy travelling, spending quality time with my family and friends and I am a seasoned theatre goer.
Purveyor of fruit for the office, and supplier of biscuits…. Outside of that I head up the Technical team who support the Land and Planning team to deliver technically sound, well-designed, and deliverable planning consents.
I started my career in a Transportation and Highways consultancy and subsequently joined an architectural practice before moving onto a housebuilder over 20 years ago. In that time I have been involved in hundreds of developments, ranging from small low-rise greenfield residential to high rise mixed use and brownfield regeneration schemes of up to 10,000 dwellings.
I also obtained a BSc in Building Surveying from the University of Reading through a distance learning course while working full time for a housebuilder, who were both generous and understanding in terms of university commitments.
I have two young kids; I have no spare time. When time permits, I do like to watch MotoGP (motorcycle racing) and anything Snowsports related. If I am very lucky, I also like to catch up on the latest in the World Surf League.
I work as a Planning Manager in the Planning team. My responsibilities include evaluating the development potential of new land, promoting sites for development, managing and submitting planning applications, and securing deliverable planning permissions for our landowners.
I am a chartered town planner. My career started as a transport planner before graduating with a Masters in Planning and Development from the University of Reading. I have a broad range of experience having worked in a local planning authority, and a national planning consultancy, before moving to Gleeson Land in 2016.
In my role as Planning Director, I work with Rachel Scott to manage the planning function for Gleeson Land. This involves directly managing projects and overseeing the planning strategies on our sites, making sure planning applications are submitted at the most opportune time and to ensure each scheme maximises value for our landowners.
I will also advise on the planning prospects of new land opportunities and work with the Land Team in bringing these into our growing portfolio.
I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree and Post Graduate diploma in Town Planning and have been a member of the RTPI for over 25 years. I started my planning career with the London Borough of Hillingdon and then spent 5 years working for BAA at Heathrow Airport before moving into the housebuilding sector, where I spent over 12 years managing the planning function of a plc housebuilder. I joined Gleeson Land in summer 2018.
During my career, I have been lucky enough to work on a wide range of major residential led development projects across the south east of England ranging from high rise apartment buildings in town centres, to major greenfield urban extensions
My role within Gleeson Land mostly revolves around raising Appointment & Warranty documentation, together with allocation & management of Purchase Order numbers. I am also responsible for processing consultant invoices together with general office support for across all departments.
My work history covers a variety of industries from Builders Merchants & high street Insurance Brokers to Bed Manufactures - with a little stint as a school dinner lady thrown in for extra variety when the kids were young. My roles have been within accounts departments, Sales (both field & office based), Marketing & general Administration roles. Whilst I did manage a BTEC Diploma in Business Studies, I would say that by this time of my life work experience is the main qualification.
In my spare I like to meet up with friends, a little bit of exercise (nothing too strenuous) and I love watching films.
I joined Gleeson Land in January 2024 as Land Director for its newly established ‘Western Region'. With significant growth aspirations, I'm tasked with identifying and securing new land opportunities that support the Group's ambitious expansion plans and strengthen our presence in the region.
I am a Planning Manager. I manage projects and oversee the planning strategy in order to bring sites forward at the appropriate time. I also watch planning policy closely to see what is expected to change in the future which in turn aids our thinking on sites. I have a strategic background and have managed sites up to 2000 units.
In 2021, I was named South East Young Planner of the year by the RTPI for my contribution to the Planning industry. I have over 10 years of experience in the industry having first undertaken an internship at Wokingham Borough Council before moving to a Planning Consultancy where I gained experience nationally on strategic developments. I have been involved in strategic development locations and garden villages as well as smaller scale developments. I hold a BA (Hons) in Geography and a MSc in Development Planning. I am also accredited with the MRTPI. Away planning I am also a qualified Swimming Teacher.
I'm a keen traveller and always have my next adventure lined up. In my spare I love being outdoors and in the summer months I can often be found on the water either paddleboarding, kayaking or hiking. When the weather is less appealing you'll find me at my local yoga studio.