Rob Perrins, chief govt of Berkeley Group Holdings, is to grow to be govt chair of the board in September, topic to shareholder approval.
Rob Perrins, a chartered accountant, has been with Berkeley since 1994, becoming a member of the board as finance director in 2001. As founder Tony Pidgley’s protégé, Perrins succeeded him as chief govt in 2009.
However whereas rival quantity house-builder Vistry has opted to flout the UK Company Governance Code by combining the roles of chair and chief govt officer in a single particular person, Greg Fitzgerald, Berkeley is holding the roles separate. Richard Stearn, finance director since 2015, will grow to be chief govt when Perrins strikes up.
Michael Dobson, Berkeley’s present chairman, will step down from the board on the conclusion of the corporate’s AGM on 5th September 2025.
The announcement of Perrins’ promotion got here as the corporate revealed its accounts for the yr to thirtieth April 2025, which confirmed pre-tax income of £528.9m (2024: £557.3m).
Income of £2,486.5m within the yr (2024: £2,464.3m) included £2,432.2m of residential income (2024: £2,395.7m, £14.8m of economic income (2024: £47.2m) and £39.5m of land gross sales (2024: £21.4m).
Perrins mentioned that the provision chain was absorbing a lot of the ache in the case of rising prices. “For Berkeley, construct prices have remained steady over the course of the yr,” he mentioned. “The sluggish home financial backdrop, with low housebuilding and wider development exercise, is main subcontractors to soak up underlying inflationary stress on supplies and labour inside their tender pricing. As we glance ahead, Berkeley expects this dynamic to proceed as subcontractors place worth on securing the ahead orders in a weak market.”
On the previous yr’s buying and selling efficiency, Perrins mentioned: “Berkeley has delivered £528.9m of pre-tax revenue for the yr, with web money at £337.3m, regardless of ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility. With over 75% of gross sales secured for the approaching yr, we’re well-placed to realize our FY26 pre-tax revenue steering of £450m.
“This represents a wonderful operational efficiency with extremely disciplined execution and shut management of prices. We’ve got added long-term worth to the enterprise, each in our land holdings and thru our construct to lease (BTR) platform, whereas returning £381.5m to shareholders; an awesome begin to the Berkeley 2035 technique.
“There’s good underlying demand for our houses, with transaction volumes regularly enhancing over the course of the yr. Nevertheless, client confidence stays finely balanced and a extra significant restoration requires each improved sentiment and macroeconomic stability.”
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