McStone appoints new chief financial officer

Retirement housebuilder McCarthy Stone has appointed Jo Bennett as its new chief financial officer.

Bennett will help deliver on the company’s growth, with the business aiming to build and sell around 2,000 new apartments and bungalows a year and operate its 530 open retirement communities, including its 120 housing with care schemes.

Most recently, Bennett was chief business officer at Pizza Express, responsible for finance, legal, IT, property, the value creation plan, business transformation and the supply chain.

Previously to this, she was group cfo of Hilding Anders Group, a global bed and mattress manufacturer and retailer.

Bennett also built her strong financial background from her role as a director at KKR Capstone and at TPG Capital; here, she drove value creation throughout the life of the investments. She trained as an account at Ernst & Young and is a member of the ICAEW.

Bennett joins the business today (April 9), sitting on the group’s main board and its executive committee.

John Tonkiss, McStone’s ceo, said: “I am delighted that Jo is joining our team to help drive our growth, capitalising on our position as the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities and our fast-growing …