GORDON Cunningham, MD and majority shareholder of construction company Clark Contracts, has launched Nova Homes, a start-up private housebuilder.
He has been joined on the board by Ed Monaghan, former CEO of Mactaggart and Mickel, as non-executive director.
Gordon said, “With Clark Contracts recently achieving £100m turnover in 2022, it is personally very exciting to launch this new start-up. I am looking forward to building a new housebuilding brand in Nova Homes. Whilst in the short term there are concerns over the housebuilding sector, I definitely feel this is the right time in the housing market cycle to launch Nova.”
Ed Monaghan added, “When I left Mactaggart & Mickel, I knew I wanted to maintain my lifelong passion for housing, and when Gordon got in touch, and explained the vision for Nova Homes, I was excited at the opportunity to help launch the business and couldn’t wait to get started.
“With Gordon’s 35 years’ experience in the industry, and the impressive performance of Clark Contracts under his leadership, combined with my own experience and knowledge of the housebuilding industry, we will be able to form a strong partnership and ensure the successful launch and development of Nova.”
Initially, the focus of Nova Homes will be on site acquisitions, with the business currently seeking land before developing ‘high-quality, modern’ homes.
Gordon commented, “I have looked at the potential to start a business-like Nova many times in the last 20 years, but the timing was never right. The current position of the housing cycle coupled with Ed’s decision to come on board from inception convinced me the timing was right.
“I have worked in construction for 35 years and to the outsider, housebuilding is construction but there are many differences between both sectors, and this is essentially why I have never taken the plunge.
“Ed’s experience and credibility within the industry is impressive. Working your way through an organisation from apprentice to CEO over 20 years is unrivalled. The Mactaggart & Mickel brand always impressed me as being unique in a very crowded space and we are making no comparisons or grand declarations of where we would like Nova to be positioned.
“I first met Ed when we were randomly sat next to each other at a business dinner in 2009, and I thought back then it was someone like Ed I would need to work with to seriously look at private housebuilding. Given Ed’s achievements and long-standing loyalty to Mactaggart & Mickel I didn’t give it much more thought.
“Since then, our paths crossed a couple of times but when I read the news of the successful sale of Mactaggart & Mickel’s housebuilding to Springfield in 2022, I got in touch, and we met the week after Ed retired. Having Ed alongside me provides the necessary experience which will hopefully augment our existing skills, and I think the combination of the two of us working together to build the Nova team and brand, will be a successful partnership.”
