Mills Advertising

PROPERTY development company Maineside Development Limited has continued its own building programme with the appointment of a dedicated land buyer.

Steve Baker, 33, joins Maineside from McCarthy and Stone, in York, the UK’s largest builder of retirement homes and flats in the UK.

“Until now, all land buying was left to the two directors, which is typical of many small property developers, and often relied on land agents chasing us,” says the company’s founder Dave Muir, who launched Maineside with co-director Kevin Slade in 1998.

“The company has grown to such an extent that it makes sense to appoint a dedicated land buyer, freeing directors to manage the business better and adding, in the shape of Steve Baker, even greater expertise. Land buying is not something you can teach.”

Maineside, based in Coulby Newham, builds houses and apartments across the full spectrum, from affordable to luxury executive, but focusing on desirable locations. Last year, it completed developments in Linthorpe and Thornaby, and is putting the finishing touches to the conversion of a mansion house in Darlington into two large family homes, alongside a new block of nine luxury apartments. The company employs up to 60 people during construction projects.

London-born Steve, who now lives in County Durham, worked in IT as a field service engineer, before beginning his career in land buying in 2000.

He says: “Maineside are a progressive company. They are ambitious and quality-driven, which is a great fit for my career aspirations. To succeed as a good land buyer, you need a good eye for potential development sites, but you also need to be prepared to do a lot of homework, to understand the planning laws, to know when to be cautious and when to be bold, and, above all, to be a good negotiator.”

• Maineside is hosting open days at its Darlington development on the weekend of July 5 and 6, from 10am to 4pm. For more information or brochures, contact Maineside on 01642 579859.

View PDF