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    Untypical CEO appointment: governance and delivery takeaways for project teams

    December 4, 2025|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    Untypical CEO appointment: governance and delivery takeaways for project teams

    First reported on The Construction Index

    30 Second Briefing

    Former Barratt Developments regional managing director Gary Ennis has been appointed chief executive of Untypical, the new brand combining Hopkins Homes and Tilia Homes owned by Guy Hands’ Terra Firma Capital Partners. Ennis, who ran Barratt’s London and southeast division until September 2024, will be based in Solihull from 8 December, despite no Untypical corporate entity yet being registered at Companies House. The delayed merger of Hopkins and Tilia, first announced in October 2024, remains incomplete, leaving governance and integration timelines unclear for supply chains and project partners.

    Technical Brief

    • Terra Firma acquired Tilia Homes (then Kier Living) from Kier in May 2021.
    • Hopkins Homes was purchased from founder James Hopkins in January 2022, creating a dual-platform portfolio.
    • The combined housebuilding activities are being branded as “untypical”, distinct from the existing limited company names.
    • More than 12 months have elapsed since the October 2024 public merger announcement without legal completion.
    • No corporate entity named Untypical or untypical is yet registered at Companies House for governance purposes.
    • Hands’ stated priorities for the group include build quality, operational efficiency, safety and customer-centric delivery.

    Our Take

    Within the 150 Infrastructure stories in our database, UK housebuilding restructurings involving private equity owners like Terra Firma Capital Partners are relatively rare, suggesting Untypical’s slow merger process is being watched as a bellwether for sponsor-backed consolidation in the sector.

    The prolonged gap between the 2024 merger announcement for Untypical and execution contrasts with most UK regional housebuilder integrations in our coverage, which typically move to operational consolidation within a shorter window, signalling potential complexity around legacy brands such as Hopkins Homes and Tilia Homes.

    London- and Solihull-centred operators in our Infrastructure set often face diverging planning and labour-market conditions, so combining Hopkins Homes and Tilia Homes under Untypical gives the new CEO scope to rebalance exposure between higher-margin South East schemes and volume-driven Midlands markets.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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