Cora Homes is excited to announce the appointment of its new Managing Director, Matthew Westwood, as the company looks to build on the momentum of 2024.

Matthew brings extensive housebuilding experience, a deep passion for growth and a determination to overcome industry-wide challenges to the Northamptonshire-based housebuilder.

His knowledge of the sector, combined with a drive to help Cora thrive, makes him the perfect fit to lead the company into the future.

Matthew, who joined Cora in 2022 as Director of Special Projects, said despite mounting pressures on SMEs in the sector, Cora had laid solid groundwork for the year ahead.

“I’m confident in the future of Cora,” he said. “We have a motivated and driven team who have tackled the adversity thrown at us this year with humility and great resilience.

“One of the highlights of the year has been getting to know our customers and hearing their positive feedback. 

“We’ve placed a strong emphasis on ensuring our customer experience is top-notch, alongside the high quality and sustainability of the homes we build.

“2025 will be an outward-focused year, as we look to secure high-quality land and strengthen relationships with development partners to continue creating amazing places.”

Matthew’s career journey began in architecture, before moving into construction and development roles in London alongside UK-wide strategic projects. 

He then went on to manage a substantial portfolio of development and regeneration projects in East London.

Among Cora’s successes last year was the groundbreaking for the first collection of 154 homes on the new Broadnook Garden Village in Leicestershire.

Matthew said the housebuilding industry had faced a tough year, with more than 4,200 insolvencies across the construction sector, and was realistic about the struggles ahead.

He said he would welcome any changes the new government could make to speed up the planning process.

He said: “It has not been easy, but the team delivered a number of exceptionally good quality homes against the odds.  

“We are under no illusions that 2025 will be another tough year and without meaningful and correctly targeted change to the planning system, in particular planning committees, the difficulty of delivering much needed housing will remain.”

For more on Cora Homes’ 2024 and plans for the year ahead, see www.cora.uk/news/looking-forward-to-2025/