The HIP: The Housing Industry Podcast

Grand Union Housing Group wants to be a force for good. And this is clear with their focus on compassion, kindness and open and honest leadership. In this episode, we speak with Aileen Evans, Chief Executive of GUHG. The housing association provides homes around Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire. Aileen is also on the board of CIH and previously held the President position. She gi...

The housing sector faces questions that can at times seem too big to answer. How can we build enough homes to meet demand? How can we free up enough land to build them on? How do we ensure equitable access to housing? In this episode, Geeta Nanda, CEO at Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, shares her thoughts on the answers to these challenging questions. MTVH is a large housing association with i...

“...all we’ve ever wanted to do, is where other people run away from things, we lean into things.” This is from Ryan Geldard, Director at modular building specialist M-AR Offsite, where adaptability to change is key. We sit down with Ryan and Head of HR, Jess Rose for this episode to get their insights on MMC and growing a business in today’s market. M-AR started around 15 years ago creating modul...

Do we make housing too complicated? Do we focus more on the process than the outcome and the impact? At Livv Housing Group, they’re focusing on simple messages and simple targets. In this episode, we speak with the CEO, Leann Hearne, about their mission, the impacts they’ve made and the journey Leann has been on with the group. Livv Housing Group is a local business at heart, with thirteen thousan...

The importance of social housing in our society can’t be understated. But with the challenges that the sector currently faces, how do we ensure that we’re providing enough supported living while also innovating and supporting individual needs? This week we sit down with Jacqui De-Rose, Group Chief Executive at Progress Housing Group. Jacqui shares with us the story of what got her hooked on housin...

Sinéad Butters, Chief Executive Officer at Aspire Group joins us this week to share her leadership expertise. We discover Sinéad’s fascinating journey into the housing sector and how Aspire has evolved over her 23 years tenure. We speak about the power of taking risks and being willing to make bold moves. We learn how Aspire became an organisation that is prepared to take those risks and make diff...

For those with an unwavering desire to make a difference in people’s lives, whichever sector they start out in, those ideals tend to guide their decisions throughout their professional journey. Guy Stenson, Chief Executive of Gloucester City Homes, has spent the last six years in the housing sector, previously working in health and social care. In this episode of The HIP, we dive deep into his jou...

There is a ‘magic pink box’ at Octopus Energy hard at work to cut homeowners' energy bills down to zero. In this episode, we sit down with Michael Cottrell, Product and Partnerships Director at Octopus Energy and find out what this ‘magic pink box’ is all about! We take a deep dive into Zero Bills homes and Octopus' partnership with housing developers across the UK.  Octopus has achieved...

Join us and a panel of industry leaders for a deep dive on collaboration and technology! Caithlin Knox hosts our second tech, transformation and change episode where we ask experts to bring their own questions to the table. Our panel this week: Jason Wickens – Interim CIO with expertise in social housing Rajiv Peter – Group CIO of Notting Hill Genesis, responsible for technology, data and digital...

The challenges that we face in the housing sector are equally affecting retirement homes. On top of that, social isolation is a dangerous reality for many in later life. In this episode we sit down with Katie Fisher, Divisional Managing Director at McCarthy Stone for the Midlands. We discover how McCarthy Stone is tackling these challenges as well as improving the lives of older people. McCarthy S...

David Done is not afraid to climb mountains - whether that’s the mountainous task of building an organisation that provides the best customer service in the UK, or the mountains that he’s summited! David is stepping down as RHP’s Chief Executive at the end of March, and we’re lucky enough to have him on the show to share his journey. David shares with us how he managed to turn the organisation int...

With rising costs and a growing need for new homes and sustainability goals that need to be met, does modular housing play a role in the solution? In this episode, we speak with Andrew Shepherd, Managing Director at TopHat. Andrew shares with us his journey and gives us key insights into the behind-the-scenes of Top Hat, and how its modular products are tackling the challenges people are facing to...

A first for The HIP! Caithlin Knox hosts a panel of guests speaking on Tech, Transformation & Change within the sector. Caithlin is joined by Nick Atkin, Chief Executive at Yorkshire Housing and Jason Wickens, Chief Information Officer at Southern Housing Group. We dive deep into tech within the housing sector, with Nick and Jason bringing their own questions along to answer. We get the panel’...

In this episode, we sit down with Kate Davies, Chief Executive of Notting Hill Genesis for a fascinating chat. Since starting in the housing sector as an administrator around 30 years ago, Kate’s career progressed through multiple CE roles before her 18 year tenure with Notting Hill Genesis. Notting Hill Genesis has grown significantly since Kate started, with real estate holdings totalling £21 bi...

“At the heart of any housing association is people.” This is a sentiment shared by Thirteen Group’s Executive Director of Customer Service, David Ripley. In our conversation with David, we find out what it means to get services right for Thirteen’s customers. Thirteen is a regional housing provider in the Northeast of England that manages around 36,000 homes. David joined the organisation around 5...

Housing association regulation has a huge effect on the confidence that people have in the organisation. In this episode of The HIP, we speak with Emma Richman, Executive Director of Operations at Peaks & Plains Housing Trust and Board Member at First Choice Homes Oldham. Emma has worked in social housing for 27+ years and has been with Peaks & Plains for almost 3 years. Peaks & Plains...

What does a housing association look like when it’s residents are placed at the centre of the organisation’s decision making? Elly Hoult is Group Director of Assets & Sustainability at Notting Hill Genesis and a CIH board member. She’s been with NHG for around 6 years after starting out as an admin for a housing association. She quickly realised how great these organisations are, which ignited...

In this episode, we sat down with Hannah Harvey, Chief Operating Officer at Saffron Housing Trust. Hannah has progressed within the housing sector quickly. She’s worked in housing for around 12 years, spending her earlier career working in the police force and in children’s services. We asked Hannah how she progressed in housing so quickly. Hannah shared with us an abundance of insightful and acti...

With energy prices on the rise, it’s now more important than ever to capitalise on the ever decreasing cost of renewables. New homes with sustainable energy technologies need building, and older homes need retrofitting.  In this episode, we sat down with Nigel Banks, R&D Director at ilke Homes. Nigel is a chartered engineer and has been in housing and construction for around 20 years. Over the...

The home is the start of well-being and everyone should have a decent home. This is what Charlie Norman, Group Chief Executive at Mosscare St Vincent’s Housing Group believes.  Our host, James Leighton, sat down with Charlie for an in-depth conversation on her values and her journey with Mosscare St Vincent’s. Charlie has spent 30+ years in the housing sector and is driven to make positive change....

In this episode of The HIP, our host James Leighton sat down with Peter Jackson - Managing Director of Seddon Construction. Seddon Construction operates in the northwest and midlands with 500 employees, half of which are tradespeople. Numerous businesses fall under the Seddon umbrella that cover painting, retrofitting, property services and more, each with its own director. Seddon recently celebra...

Homelessness in the UK is on the rise. 8.5 million people within the UK currently have unmet housing needs. Local Space aims to provide a ready supply of homes to house homeless people within nine local authority areas across London and Essex. In this episode of The HIP, our host, James Leighton speaks with Josie Parsons, Chief Executive Officer of Local Space. Josie started her career in finance...

In this episode of The HIP, our host, James Leighton is joined by Chief Executive of Golden Lane Housing - John Verge. Golden Lane Housing’s vision is “a world where everyone with a learning disability has opportunities to access good quality housing that meets their needs”, and John shares with us some of the amazing work that Golden Lane Housing is doing to make this happen.  The episode begins...

This week we were joined by Nigel Wilson, who is the Group Chief Executive of Gentoo Group.  We unpacked a ton of great topics in this episode, from decarbonization to sustainability, to hiring the next generation of talent! We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it. Gentoo is doing a lot of interesting things in the space, and we’re excited to see how things will continue to g...

This week, host James Leighton was joined by Ian McDermott, CEO at Peabody. This was an incredibly insightful conversation, ranging from Ian's experience in the industry, through to some home truths around scaling, having a low ego, and the importance of authenticity! Ian has a wealth of experience in the industry, so to get his opinion on a variety of technical and personal topics was incred...