Legal & General has appointed Michael Dempsey as director of development and investment and Shaun Holdcroft as director of operations for its affordable homes division, launched in April 2018.

Dempsey has 30 years experience in the housing industry, and joins from Wellbury Projects, a development consultancy he established. Prior to this, Dempsey was regional managing director of Keepmoat Homes Southern.

Holdcroft (pictured) has joined the company from housing initiative settle, where he was executive director. Other roles have included a spell as director of resident services and commercial portfolios at Hyde Housing Group, and interim head of housing at Southwark Council.

'With only 30,000 affordable homes delivered in the UK each year, and a waiting list of 1.3m, there is an urgent need to close this gap,' said Ben Denton, managing director of Legal & General Affordable Homes.

'As we gear up towards the acquisition of our first sites, our major focus has been to put together a stellar team to support our ambitions. Mike and Shaun bring a wealth of experience from across the housing building and affordable housing sectors and are key hires as we begin to establish our development platform.'