Lesley said: “Since I joined Kingswood, we’ve developed a strong sales team with a training and mentoring programme to ensure a consistent approach across the business. This has helped deliver on sales targets and ensure high levels of customer satisfaction. Shape Your Home is a fantastic scheme for our sales teams as it enables customers to create a home that’s bespoke to them and how they really want to live. This combined with our use of virtual reality gaming-style technology truly sets us apart from other housebuilders.
“I’m proud that my role in leading the sales team has been recognised and am looking forward to helping even more people secure their new homes.”
In the 12 months to March 2021, the end of Kingswood’s last financial year, the business more than doubled the number of homes built a year – increasing from 36 homes in 2020 to 77 in 2021, with a further 50% increase forecast in the current financial year.
The company is targeting 250 homes a year by 2024-25.
James Brown, from Aughton, recently promoted to architectural director, is instrumental in designing those homes.
“Part of my role is to ensure Shape Your Home succeeds from the initial designing of the floor plan configurations, to cater for different markets, carrying right through to planning, building regulations and working drawings used by the site team and sub-contractors” James explained.
James previously worked as a consultant to Kingswood and prior to that had worked alongside MD Paul Jones on various projects.
“Kingswood is growing rapidly, and we now have a design team of five – it’s like a mini architectural practice within the company, but we are able to react to requests and queries much quicker than using external consultants which sets us apart from most other developers” James said.
Having worked for global WA100 business IBI Group and as a consultant, James said: “It’s great being both the designer and the client.
“It’s important for me to work for a company where I can have influence. When you’re a consultant you’re working to a client who generally knows what they want and how it should look. At Kingswood, we have that freedom, the design team have developed a core range of house types and we adapt the facades to each site and the local vernacular.”
He added: “Looking to the future we’ll be introducing a more traditional range, and a more contemporary eco range, developing zero carbon homes to ensure our developments are ready for the future government targets. This is an incredibly exciting period for Kingswood Homes in terms of making sure we continue to deliver high quality new neighbourhoods, that champions the governments requirements around sustainability and meets the ambitious growth aspirations of the business.”
Headquartered at Little Hoole, near Preston, Kingswood is currently building and selling homes at Green Hills in Feniscowles, The Hawthorns in Elswick and The Market Quarter in Hatherleigh, Devon, with plans for a new site in the Lancashire village of Hoddlesden and more in the pipeline.
Managing director Paul Jones said: “Lesley and James have helped strengthen their respective departments, providing stability at a time of rapid growth for the business. Their promotions are both justly deserved and reflect their hard work and dedication to ensuring we provide customers with the level of service and quality homes they want, need and deserve.”