South East land promoter Merrow Wood Group has appointed Freddie Webber from Cala Homes as executive director.
Webber spent 10 years at Cala Homes’ Thames division, where he most recently served as managing director. Prior to that, he worked for Berkeley Group.
To accelerate Merrow Wood Group’s growth from its current portfolio of seven sites and circa 1,000 units in the residential planning process, minority shareholder Ashen Capital, which was launched in 2024 by Alex Price and Steven Wright, who previously ran the Fiera Real Estate UK business, has doubled its funding commitment to £5m.
Merrow Wood Group evolved out of land promotion business Merrow Wood, which was founded in 2021 by Daniel Webber and John Kennedy.
The group operates as a land promoter, entering into promotion agreements with landowners. Under this model, it takes on all costs associated with promoting a site through the planning system – including masterplanning, technical surveys, planning applications and legal fees. In return, the group receives an agreed share of the proceeds when the land is sold to a housebuilder or developer on the open market.
Freddie Webber said: “We’ve spent our careers on the development side – buying land, managing planning risk, and building homes. We know exactly what drives value and what drives cost at every stage of the process. Merrow Wood Group exists to put that knowledge to work for landowners who want a truly aligned partner.”
Daniel Webber, executive director of Merrow Wood Group, added: “There is no shortage of land with potential in the South East. What we’ve built at Merrow Wood is the experience, the backing, and the approach to unlock it – and to do it properly.”
Alex Price, chief executive of Ashen Capital, said: “We established Ashen Capital specifically to back businesses with the right people and the right market opportunity. Merrow Wood has both. The founders’ backgrounds give them a competitive edge that is very difficult to replicate – they know what the end buyer wants, and they know how to deliver it.”
