Paul Lester to succeed John White as McCarthy & Stone chairman

McCarthy & Stone announced the appointment of Paul Lester CBE as a non-executive director and chairman-designate on Thursday.

The FTSE 250 company said Lester will join the board on 3 January, and will succeed John White as chairman, as White has advised the board of his intention to retire following the annual general meeting on 25 January.

White has been chairman of the company since September 2013.

“We are very pleased that Paul will be joining the McCarthy & Stone board and succeeding me as chairman,” said John White.

“McCarthy & Stone is a great business and I am proud to have served on the board during a transformational period for the company, culminating in its successful IPO in 2015.”

White said that, while market uncertainty following recent political events had acted as a “stern test” for the business model, he was “pleased” that its product and team had proved McCarthy & Stone's resilience.

“The company remains uniquely-placed to capitalise on the substantial growth opportunity in retirement housing, driven by a rapidly ageing population in the UK, and the team can look to the future with confidence.

“I am pleased to be handing over to someone of Paul's standing and experience and I am certain that he will make a major contribution to McCarthy & Stone.”

McCarthy & Stone said Lester is currently chairman of Essentra and Forterra, and was formerly a director of Invensys.

Previously, he was group managing director of Balfour Beatty before becoming chief executive of support services company VT Group in 2002.

Lester was also chairman of John Laing Infrastructure Fund until September this year.

“I am delighted to be joining the board of the UK's leading retirement homebuilder,” said Paul Lester

“This is a very exciting time for McCarthy & Stone and I look forward to supporting Clive Fenton and his team in developing the company's strategy and performance still further."