Homebuilders Berkeley Group announce ‘Rob the Builder’ as new executive chair to lead 10-year strategy

British homebuilder Berkeley Group Holdings has reported end-of-year pre-tax profits of £528m and announced that their new executive chairman will be Rob Perrins, the veteran CEO known in the industry as “Rob the Builder”, who succeeds Michael Dobson to become executive chairman.

As Dobson steps down in September, Perrins, who has caught the attention of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner in her mission to build 1.5m houses, will steer the company through a new strategic phase.

A statement from Berkeley thanked the outgoing chair, as Perrins prepares to accelerate investment through a new “company 10-year strategy”.

Reporting their end-of-year financials on Friday, the group highlighted more than 4,000 homes being delivered - 92 per cent of which were on brownfield land typically previously used for industrial or commercial purposes.

The group reported a total of £251.8m paid out in dividends to shareholders, who also benefited from a further £129.7m in share buybacks, at an average price of £39.05 each.

CEO Perrins praised the group’s performance amid a challenging environment.

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“Berkeley has delivered £528.9m of pre-tax profit for the year, with net cash at £337.3m, in spite of ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility. With over 75 per cent of sales secured for the coming year, we are well-placed to achieve our FY26 pre-tax profit guidance of £450m.

“This represents an excellent operational performance with highly disciplined execution and close control of costs. We have added long-term value to the business, both in our land holdings and through our Build to Rent platform.”

Alongside last year’s financial performance, the group revealed a new 10-year strategy which will incorporate a £7bn free cash flow to deploy across the next decade, including a minimum of £2bn to return to investors.

Mr Perrins added that the group is focused on helping clearing regulatory hurdles when it comes to the government’s plan for 1.5m affordable houses to be built before the end of parliament.

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“Berkeley is fully committed to the government’s housing-led growth agenda, and we are submitting planning applications on all our sites to accelerate delivery,” he said. “We welcome the government’s efforts to unblock housing supply and advocate focused action to accelerate completion of Section 106 agreements, increase funding for the Affordable Housing sector and ensure Planning Authorities have the resources and pro-active mindset to facilitate housing delivery.

“We were therefore delighted to see the increase in Affordable Housing funding and the 10-year social housing rent settlement announced in last week’s Spending Review, which represents positive progress towards achieving their housing ambitions.”

Mr Perrins has been Berkeley’s CEO since 2009. With his promotion, current CFO Richard Stearn will, in turn, become CEO.

“Appointing Rob as executive chair will provide assurance to key stakeholders, including our people and the leaders in National and Local Government, of the continuity in leadership needed at this time,” read a company statement. “It resolves succession in a way that retains the Berkeley culture and values, the importance of which is recognised by shareholders and other stakeholders alike.”

Major shareholders will be consulted on the proposed appointment.

The company positions itself as the UK’s only large homebuilder with a business model prioritising brownfield development.

Berkeley Group Holdings was trading at £41.50 at Thursday’s market close, having risen just over 6 per cent year to date.