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Wavensmere Homes has appointed Anthony Cakebread as finance director.
Cakebread joins Wavensmere from Equites International, a South African publicly listed REIT, where he led the UK finance function. During his time at the business, Equites delivered, owned and managed developments with a total GDV of £1.1bn and managed a further £300m of logistics assets.
He brings more than a decade of audit and property experience, most recently as senior audit manager at Evelyn Partners in Birmingham, formerly Smith & Williamson, where he grew his team from two to 37. He began his career at Deloitte in 2012 and achieved his ACCA qualification in 2018 while at Bishop Fleming.
Established in 2016, Wavensmere currently has live construction projects with a combined gross development value (GDV) of more than £400m. A further three major Midlands schemes are at planning or pre-construction stage, with additional land acquisitions expected in 2026.
James Dickens, managing director of Wavensmere Homes, said the appointment reflected the increasing scale and complexity of the company’s development activity.
“We are really pleased to have Anthony on board to lead our growing in-house finance team,” he said. “We currently have five major projects under construction, investing around £3.5m per month in brownfield regeneration, so his depth of property experience will be invaluable as we continue to increase and diversify our development portfolio.
“Housebuilding brings additional complexities around funding structures, grants and legal obligations. Appointing a finance director as Wavensmere enters its second decade will support our strategic growth and strengthen operations across our head office, construction sites and joint venture partnerships.”
In his role at Equites, Cakebread established and scaled the UK finance function, overseeing accounting and reporting for 30 SPVs. He led on corporate transactions, banking and audit compliance, managed joint venture financial operations and introduced process automation through the use of artificial intelligence.
Cakebread said: “My career to date has focused on property transactions and asset management, so as Wavensmere continues to expand its development portfolio and residential holdings, this is an excellent opportunity.
“Wavensmere is one of the UK’s most high-profile SME housebuilders and continues to grow at a formidable pace. This role allows me to oversee the financial management of each live development and held asset, while ensuring the smooth running of the wider finance function.”
Wavensmere recently completed the final phase of its £175m Nightingale Quarter development in Derby city centre and the £112m Belgrave Village scheme in Birmingham, which delivered 438 energy-efficient homes on a long-vacant brownfield site.
Current projects include the £130m Barrelman’s Point development on the former HMS Ganges naval base near Ipswich, the £80m Friar Gate Goods Yard regeneration in Derby, the £150m Wolverhampton Canalside South scheme, and the £50m redevelopment of Cheltenham’s North Place car park, known as Arkle Court.
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