Lar Housing Trust chief executive, Ann Leslie, is to retire from the organisation after ten years in the role.
The trust board is undertaking an internal recruitment process for her successor and a new chief executive should be in place by early November.
Ms Leslie was Lar’s first permanent chief executive, setting up the housing charity and overseeing its launch.
It had a remit to prove the concept of a different funding model, which could help to address the chronic shortage of affordable homes in Scotland.
Lar uses a pathfinding loan-based, rather than the traditional grant-based, financial model to provide mid-market rental homes across the country.
It launched with an initial £55 million Scottish government loan, which Lar later supplemented by £65m of private finance from Scottish Widows/Bank of Scotland.
Ms Leslie was a partner with one of Scotland’s leading law firms before joining the Scottish Futures Trust where she helped write the business case for Lar.
Lar’s chair, Ken Macintosh, described her tenure as ‘truly outstanding’. He said: “I can’t praise Ann highly enough for what she has achieved at Lar. She has taken the germ of an idea, a genuine blank canvas with no homes and no staff and created an organisation that is now delivering for hard-pressed tenants across the country and with the potential to transform the way we finance affordable housing.
“Lar now has 44 sites across Scotland, nearly 800 occupied homes in ten local authority areas, our own construction arm, and a dedicated staff team – all from a standing start thanks to Ann.”
He added: “Ann’s success is not just measured in bricks and mortar, it is the ethos she has developed at Lar which our staff and tenants alike hold dear, a set of values that marries the best of our charitable principles, our sense of public service, with the entrepreneurial drive of the private sector.”
Ms Leslie is looking forward to enjoying some travelling at the tail end of this year. She said: “I am immensely proud of our achievements during the last ten years. Leading Lar has been an absolute privilege and with Lar’s first pipeline successfully concluded and a great start to phase 2 with the launch of construction at the Old Port Edgar naval barracks, now is the time for me to step aside.
“I am really looking forward to watching Lar’s future progress and success and I shall be cheering the team on in their future work.
“We have moved from set up to start up, followed by impressive growth and diversification. We have two subsidiary companies and a growing reputation for tackling complex regeneration projects that others simply don’t have the risk appetite to touch. This has only been possible thanks to a fantastic staff team and a hugely supportive board.
“I’m also extremely grateful for the support Lar has received from local authorities, the Scottish government and our private finance provider, Scottish Widows and Bank of Scotland, whose teams have been incredibly helpful in understanding Lar’s business and charitable aims and helping us to prosper.
“A final word of thanks should go to our tenants and it has been humbling to hear their stories and to play a part in helping them put down roots in their own communities.”
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