Claire Cooper becomes second major appointment to asset manager’s housing operations in the space of a few weeks

Gresham House has appointed Claire Cooper to head up its shared ownership operations.

The alternative asset manager, which owns two for-profit registered providers and has £800m invested in UK housing, announced the appointment of Cooper this week.

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Claire Cooper, director of shared ownership operations, Gresham House

Cooper joins Gresham House from housing association giant Peabody where she served for three years as head of homeownership.

She also previously worked in homeownership and property management roles at Optivo, One Housing, Heylo and Notting Hill.

Gresham House earlier appointed Matthew Painter to the role of director of development and delivery.

Painter who started in the role last month, joined Gresham House from real estate investor CA Ventures.

He has also previously served in development manager roles for later living provider Guild Living and Unite Students.

Mike Adams, managing director, real estate at Gresham House, said: “The investment we are making in our housing team at this time reflects the strength of demand we are seeing from investors and the long-term opportunity set in UK housing.

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Matt Painter, director of development and delivery, Gresham House

“Claire and Matthew both bring a wealth of expertise to their new roles at Gresham House and will drive continued growth across our shared ownership and build-to-rent portfolios at a time when both sectors are crucial to addressing the UK’s housing crisis.”

Gresham House owns for-profit providers ReSI Housing and ReSI Homes. Its model involves buying portfolios of stock using institutional investment and then signing an agreement with another registered provider to manage the properties.