Living Space Housing Prepares for Rapid Expansion with Appointment of Wayne Smith as Buyer

August 24, 2021

Solihull-based Living Space Housing is paving the way for rapid expansion with the appointment of Wayne Smith as a Buyer.

The affordable housing specialist launched to the market in 2019 and is currently constructing seven residential developments across middle England, with a number of additional sites in the planning system. The combined construction value of its development portfolio is in excess of £72million, which equates to 580 affordable houses, apartments and bungalows. 

Wayne Smith joins Living Space from Colas Rail Limited, where he was based at Alpha Tower in Birmingham as a Senior Buyer for the Midland Metro Alliance. The project is responsible for the delivery of Birmingham’s metro network expansion – from Broad Street through to the new HS2 Station at Curzon Street. Prior to that he worked for Stepnell Construction as a Regional Buyer for the West Midlands, where he drove a culture change away from placing material procurement with sub-contractors to a direct purchasing model. He was previously based at J. Harper and Sons, which was a medium-sized construction company specialising in housing. Wayne enjoyed a 20-year career as a carpenter and maintenance specialist before becoming a buyer.

Mr Smith has extensive knowledge of the construction industry, with established relationships with a range of national and regional suppliers. His key skills include driving continuous improvement of procurement controls and project forecasting, budgeting and reporting.

Wayne Smith, Buyer for Living Space Housing said: “I am really pleased to be back working in the housing industry and it is exciting to see how many schemes Living Space has in the planning system. The current climate for procurement is challenging and the market is changing rapidly. By having a diversified supply chain, there are more opportunities for housebuilders to mitigate risks and effectively deliver the materials and resources to each live development. I am looking forward to working with the Living Space team and planning the delivery for the new projects.” 

Paul Breen, Commercial Director of Living Space Housing said: “Wayne brings really invaluable experience to our team, having worked as a carpenter on a range of construction projects prior to changing career to become a buyer. His combination of hands-on know-how with the strategic analysis, reporting and supply chain negotiations that he excels at will be a great asset to our team as we prepare for our next chapter of rapid growth.”

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