Duncan Cooper will join as Crest group finance director in June.

Before joining Sainsbury’s eight years ago he held finance roles at Sky, GlaxoSmithKline and Deloitte.

Stephen Stone, chairman of Crest Nicholson said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Duncan onto our board and are confident that he will be a key contributor to our business, bringing a range of senior finance, investor and operational experience as we continue to embed our strategy of prioritising cashflow and dividends, maximising value in the portfolio, and improving operational efficiency.”

Last month Crest reported a fall in profits for the first time in years after being squeezed by higher build cost inflation and softening market conditions in the south east.

The firm has now closed its London division with all sites in the capital now managed by offices in the Home Counties.

Crest also had now taken a number of actions in its supply chain and reviewed its own processes to offset build cost pressures.