Two new directors have been appointed to lead key departments within our Cheshire and North Wales region.
Oliver Johnston has been promoted to commercial director, while Gareth Haslam has stepped up to technical director.
We’ve also further developed our commercial and technical teams promoting several other colleagues as we work towards our ambitious growth targets over the next five years.
Oliver joined our ranks in 2023 as head of commercial for Cheshire and North Wales. After leaving school, he pursued a career in the Army, serving in the Royal Military Police. When he left the army in 2014, Oliver chose a career in construction and joined housebuilder Taylor Wimpey as a trainee quantity surveyor. Alongside his day job, he also gained a HNC with distinction in construction, followed by a first-class honours degree in quantity surveying from the University of Salford.
Oliver said: “My primary focus is to drive commercial efficiency and quality across our projects, ensuring we meet growth targets while maintaining our commitment to high standards. We’re positioned strongly in the land market, and a key priority will be delivering on our upcoming developments in 2025, with robust systems in place to manage build costs and material availability effectively.”
Within the same department, we have promoted Aled Roberts and Mitch Andrews to managing quantity surveyor roles, demonstrating our commitment to encouraging career progression within the business.
Oliver added: “Anwyl Homes stands out for its dedication to quality — not just in the homes we build, but in the culture and people behind them. I’m eager to work closely with our talented team to bring our new projects to fruition.”
New dad Oliver lives with his wife Nikkie and four-month-old daughter in Great Sankey, Warrington.
Formerly our senior design manager, Gareth Haslam has been promoted to technical director. Gareth, who lives in Chester, began his career with an architectural practice in his hometown of Sheffield. He has since worked for several housebuilders as an architectural technician, development architect and latterly design manager.
A trained mental health first aider, Gareth joined us in January 2020.
He said: “I’m excited to take on the challenge of leading the technical department, working with a strong team of people with a breadth of both engineering and architectural design talent. Our main priority is bringing new sites through the planning system, which has its challenges both in England and Wales, but we are well placed to meet those. We have built strong relationships with local authorities, backed by the quality of the Anwyl product, which has outstanding kerb appeal.”
Within the technical team we have also promoted Hannah Edwards to architectural technician, Gareth Rogers to utilities manager and Craig Ogden to development engineer.
Tom Grundy, managing director for Anwyl Homes Cheshire and North Wales, said: “Oliver and Gareth are both established and committed members of the team and they each bring a wealth of experience to their new roles as directors. I look forward to working with them both as we push on towards meeting our growth targets and increasing the number of homes we build each year by 50%.
“Last year, 50 of our colleagues successfully completed development, coaching and leadership programmes, including Oliver and Gareth, which has been invaluable in supporting them to take the next step in their careers.”
For more information on a career us Anwyl visit our Careers page.
