Rayner must learn lessons from house builders to succeed

In my corner of south-west London, it is impossible to avoid Berkeley Homes. Their boards are everywhere, popping up with new developments of apartments and houses.

- Chris Blackhurst, The Independent

For the SW postcodes read right across London, Birmingham and the south-east. Berkeley has got them cornered and as today’s company figures show, it is powering ahead, leading an industry that has been struggling with red tape, rising costs, shortage of suitable sites and an uncertain market.

Berkeley has always been a firm built on disciplined execution and rigid control of costs. Under CEO Rob Perrins, that focus has been even more firmly enforced. It's a tightness that is reflected in the news that Perrins is to move up to become executive chair of the Berkeley Group, on the retirement of Michael Dobson.

Chief executive since 2009, Perrins has overseen a period of sustained strong performance and growth. The City is not always approving of CEOs switching to chair, but in this case it makes perfect sense: Perrins knows the company, market and industry backwards; he's also au fait with the complex and often fraught regulatory landscape.