Richard Simpson was chief executive of Watkin Jones from January 2019 until July 2023. Before that he worked for Unite Group as property director.
Olympian Homes was founded in 1993 by executive chairman Mark Slatter who, like Richard Simpson, began his career in the military – Slatter was in the Royal Marines; Simpson in the Royal Hussars. It operates in a very similar space to Watkin Jones, specialising in multi-occupancy residences.
“I am delighted Richard is joining us to help us over the next chapter of our growth story and evolution of the company,” Mark Slatter said. “We have built a great team at Olympian, battle hardened by the tough challenges the property sector has faced over the past three years, we have developed a strong ‘can do’ culture and have performed strongly. We feel well placed to take advantage of the many value opportunities we are beginning to see. Being a military veteran himself, Richard really shares my vision for doing more directly for other veterans and especially those in real need. We can show how the marines and the cavalry can work successfully together.”
Richard Simpson said: “I have always been hugely impressed by the performance of Olympian. There is a great team and strong ethos in place and the partnerships which Olympian have built with the best supply chains across the sector are really strong. It is a real honour to join this highly capable team, whose values I share deeply and I am very excited about the future.”
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