Claire Kober joins House by Urban Splash

Former Haringey council leader Claire Kober has joined House by Urban Splash, a joint venture between Homes England, Urban Splash and Sekisui House.

She will take up the positions of independent director and chair of the board, helping to upscale the new company’s creation of modular homes.

The company was formed in 2019 after Japan’s largest housebuilder Sekisui invested £22m, with £30m coming from the government’s Home Building Fund, administered through Homes England.

Noel McKee, founder of We Buy Any Car, also has around a 5% stake in the company.

Ms Kober was the leader of Haringey Council from 2008 until 2018 but left in controversial circumstances after choosing to resign before deciding whether to approve the Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV) – a failed £2bn joint venture first mooted in 2015 to develop 6,400 new homes in the area.

In 2019 she joined Pinnacle Group as its managing director.

Claire Kober said: ‘I have a huge interest in housing and there’s significant synergy between the work being done by House and my own passion for addressing the UK’s housing crisis. I am impressed by the company’s pioneering attitude, innovative approach and hope to lend my experience and insight to the organisation moving forward.’

House homes are currently on sale at sites in Manchester, Birmingham and Cambridge, with properties soon available in Milton Keynes, the Lake District, the Wirral and Walsall.

Mark Shirburne-Davies will also join House as director overseeing the delivery of more than 400 new homes at the Northstowe new town in Cambridgeshire.