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Long-serving chief executive to step down from South East landlord after 30 years
A South East landlord has announced that its long-serving chief executive will step down in March 2025.
David Bogle has led Hightown Housing Association, which has stock in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, since 1995, when John Major’s Conservative government was still in power.
He said he was “most grateful to the Hightown staff and our other stakeholders for their exceptional support for our vision and purpose over the past 30 years”.
Over his three decades in charge, the landlord has seen its stock grow from 550 to 9,000 homes, with its annual turnover increasing from £4m to £136m, Hightown said in a statement on Mr Bogle’s departure.
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Along with managing and developing general needs homes, the organisation delivers care and support services, including to people who have learning disabilities, and others experiencing severe mental ill health.
Qadeer Kiani, the association’s chair, said: “We are very grateful to David for his long service and the legacy he will leave behind after a tenure of distinguished success for the organisation.”
Hightown’s development programme is expected to enable the association to reach the 10,000-home mark by 2027.
Commenting on his decision to step down, Mr Bogle said: “Hightown delivers demonstrable social value and makes a major contribution to ending homelessness in the region.”
Away from his role leading Hightown, campaigning on homelessness has been an key focus for Mr Bogle, who helped found and is chair of Homes for Cathy, set up to pressure government for action on the issue.
Talking to Inside Housing in 2023, he said housing associations must do more to take action on homelessness, which he said could help them “recover the moral high ground” in the wake of unfavourable reporting exposing poor housing conditions.
“Times are tough now, but housing associations still have resources – more than most organisations,” he said at the time. “We’re just lobbying for more of it to be devoted towards homelessness.”
In late 2023, the landlord secured a £125m green private placement deal with six UK and US investors, which it said would fund the delivery of energy-efficient affordable homes across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
In the past year, it also took on more than 50 homes in Hertfordshire from G15 landlord Notting Hill Genesis. These were supported housing properties for people with a range of learning disabilities, some of whom Hightown was already providing support services to.
In March, Moody’s upheld Hightown’s A3 long-term issuer rating and upgraded its outlook from negative to stable. The credit ratings agency noted the organisation’s “strong and predictable operating margins, simple group structure and focus on tenures with high and stable demand profiles, particularly social rent, care and supported housing and shared ownership”.
