Currently regional MD for the North West, Wilkins joined McCarthy & Stone in September 2015 from Stewart Milne Homes and will take up his new post from January 1.

Brendon O’Neill, currently regional MD for the South East, becomes the company’s South divisional MD covering the company’s Southern, South East and North London regions. O’Neill joined McCarthy & Stone in March 2017 from Bovis.

Both Wilkins and O’Neill will report to chief operating officer John Tonkiss.

As part of this new structure, Darren Humphreys was appointed Central divisional managing director in June 2017, covering the East Midlands, West Midlands and South West regions.

Chief executive Clive Fenton said: “These appointments will support our growth objectives to establish a business capable of building and selling more than 3,000 units per year. The move to a divisional structure reflects the investment we are putting in place to run an efficient business at scale and will allow us to capitalise on the substantial growth opportunities in retirement housing.

“With significant talent in our company, I am delighted that we have been able to recruit internally for the roles. Both Ian and Brendon are excellent operators with a wealth of industry experience and I am pleased to see them take on responsibility for managing our regional businesses. They have made an excellent contribution to the company since joining and these promotions reflect the success achieved in their respective regions.”