BNP Paribas Real Estate has appointed James Barrett as national head of affordable housing.
Barrett, who joins from Lifestory Group where he was senior land manager, will be based in BNP Paribas Real Estate’s Bristol office. Prior to Lifestory, Barrett was senior land manager (southern region) at Clarion Housing Group.
Tom Stanley, head of development and planning at BNP Paribas Real Estate, said: “Since I joined the business earlier this year, I’ve been looking at ways to strategically strengthen our client offer and arm our offices with specialists in locations to best meet the demand, and to allocate headcount towards areas of growth.
“Affordable housing was subject to much discussion at the government party conferences, and what is clear is that if there is a shift in power, we could see greater allocations to councils and housing associations to provide more homes for rent. We are bolstering our offer in this regard with James who is renowned in his field with two decades worth of experience and a true cross-sector specialist. I have no doubt that he will lead our team to continued success.”
Barrett added: “The demand for affordable housing has never been stronger, with over one million households currently on local authority waiting lists, unable to afford soaring private rents or access home ownership. Against this backdrop of record demand affordable housing providers continue to tackle a host of well documented challenges and the market continues to evolve with increasing investor interest in the sector. I look forward to working with Tom and the team on their client base.”
