Affordable housing provider SO Resi, the shared ownership arm of housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, has appointed its Group Head of Sales, Kevin Sims, into the newly created role of Director of Sales & Marketing. The new position forms part of SO Resi’s ongoing mission to inform and educate the market on shared ownership, where Kevin will be responsible for leading SO Resi’s sales and marketing function across the UK.

Kevin, who joined SO Resi in the summer of 2019, has a 35-year-long background in the property and mortgage industry, having worked across a number of sectors including new homes development, estate agency and shared ownership. Before joining SO Resi, Kevin held Regional Sales & Marketing Director roles for national housebuilders including McCarthy & Stone, Wilcon Homes and Prowting Homes, and was also Regional Director for Countrywide.

Kevin comments: “It’s a fantastic opportunity to be a part of this exciting new chapter for SO Resi, and this brand new role feels like the natural next step in our mission to continue the necessary conversations about shared ownership. Marketing is an incredibly valuable tool for informing, educating and supporting people about the benefits of affordable schemes. I’m determined to change the way that shared ownership is perceived within the industry, and by first time buyers, many of whom don’t understand the benefits that the product can offer.”

SO Resi has already seen exceptional sales performance in recent years, and has recently launched three new developments: SO Resi Farnham, SO Resi Bracknell and SO Resi Welwyn Garden City. As many more first time buyers turn to affordable schemes in wake of Help to Buy, demand for shared ownership is expected to increase throughout the upcoming year.

The brand-new Director of Sales & Marketing role will see Kevin continue to build on SO Resi’s recent successes, alongside taking on new challenges as the housing association moves into the Rent to Buy and London Living Rent tenures, with SO Resi’s first London Living Rent development expected to launch in Spring 2023. “Where SO Resi differs from other housing providers is the continued focus on encouraging homeownership in a way that is safe and sustainable for the customer,” Kevin adds.

He continues: “Balancing customer needs with business requirements is a challenge that everyone in this industry faces, but where SO Resi stands out from the crowd is its agile approach to selling new homes. We put product innovation, the customer experience and a continued pursuit for improvement at the forefront of everything we do. As we venture into other tenures, we bring the lessons learnt and successes achieved from working in shared ownership to the table.”

Kevin plans to build on this growth trajectory as SO Resi celebrates the second anniversary of its partnerships arm. He adds: “I’d like to focus on the opportunities that come with forging new partnerships. In some ways, the industry is very disconnected and affordable housing is looked down upon as lesser, despite playing a crucial role in bringing homeownership back into reach for first time buyers. By building these important connections with developers, we can help to raise standards across the entire industry. We have a depth of infrastructure and experience in selling new build schemes which a number of our partners have already recognised, and we have stepped up to run their sales and staircasing function too.”