Homes England appoints new chief investment officer

Last week, the government launched a new National Housing Bank that will drive £16bn of new investment into the delivery of 500,000 homes.

The bank will be a publicly owned subsidiary of Homes England, and will be allocated a further £6bn over the course of this parliament, in addition to the £16bn in launch cash.

It is hoped that the bank will accelerate housebuilding, and leverage in £53bn of additional private investment.

Before his current role at Legal and General, Mr Century was managing director of housing at the asset manager for more than eight years. 

Eamonn Boylan, chief executive of Homes England, said: “Simon brings a wealth of experience from roles in the investment and housing sectors and will be a great addition to the agency’s leadership team.

“I’d like to thank interim CIO Marcus Ralling for his significant contribution and commitment to the agency.”

Mr Century said: “I’m delighted to be joining Homes England to lead the agency’s investment activities, particularly helping to shape the set-up of the National Housing Bank.

“I look forward to continuing to work closely with partners to enable sustainable and innovative investment in housing and regeneration.”

In a post on LinkedIn, he added that it was a “huge privilege” to step into public service “at a time when place, growth and housing are so high on the national agenda”.

“With the Spending Review outcomes and the National Housing Bank plans starting to take shape, it’s a particularly exciting moment to be joining – and to help build on the brilliant work already underway across the agency.

“I’m looking forward to working with colleagues and stakeholders across the housing, investment and regeneration community to accelerate delivery and help unlock the homes and places the country needs,” Mr Century said.