Meet the team

Daren Whitaker
Founder & Chairman
Having worked on major international and domestic construction projects at the beginning of his career, Daren founded Renaker Group in 2006. With a vision to build a positive legacy in Manchester city centre and to change the Manchester skyline, Renaker was founded on an ethos of honesty, integrity and working in a straight-forward manner. These values form the pillars of the culture of the business today.
Over that period the journey to change the skyline is well underway with numerous developments now completed. Recently completed developments include; Deansgate Square, Crown Street and Castle Wharf.

Andy Lofthouse
Chief Executive Officer
Andy has been with Renaker since its inception. In a career spanning over 25 years including a variety of commercial roles with Tier 1 contractors, Andy has demonstrated the ability to deal with any challenge, and is an accomplished problem solver. His passion lies in building strong, capable teams to continue Renaker’s success.

Dave Gough
Operations Director
Dave is responsible for leading our in-house production team across the group. Dave has driven both the quality and the reputation for delivery which Renaker has gained in the market over the past 15 years. Dave and his team have delivered over 6,000 new homes.

Andrew Floyd
Finance Director
Andrew joined Renaker as Finance Director in April 2019, having previously held senior leadership positions at Bruntwood and Relentless Group. He has approaching 20 years’ of property industry experience, with significant exposure to both investment and development funding, structuring property and corporate transactions, and leading finance operations within construction, development and property investment businesses.
Andrew began his career at Deloitte in Manchester, is a qualified accountant and graduated from Birmingham University with a BSc in Accounting and Finance.

Martina Collins
Sales & Marketing Director
Martina is responsible for the Sales and Marketing function at Renaker, providing strategic direction for our sales, marketing and customer relations teams. She works closely with our international and UK sales partners across our developments.
Martina has worked on major regeneration mixed-use schemes in Manchester, London, Leeds, and York over the course of her career. Martina has a BSc in Property Economics, a MSc in Marketing, and an MBA.

Pete Mills
Development Director
Pete has lead the development function at Renaker since 2013. Pete works closely with consultants and partners directing the vision for each development, to ensure ideas become a reality. Pete relies on his extensive construction experience, delivering some of the UK’s largest projects in the retail sector, and brings this experience with an eye for detail to ensure our planning submissions are designed to allow immediate implementation at planning award.
Pete provides strong leadership to the development team to ensure our developments deliver first class amenity space for our customers. Pete has a degree in Civil Engineering.

Mark Schilling
Investment Director
Mark joined Renaker in 2013. After qualifying with a BSc (Hons), Mark started his career in quantity surveying. A skilled negotiator with a depth of commercial experience, Mark prides himself on working collaboratively with partners and building long-term relationships. Mark works closely with funding partners across our business, raising capital to invest in future projects. Mark has lead the PRS deals across the business, and is also responsible for the disposal of assets.

James Sidlow
Development Director
Joining Renaker in 2019, James leads the development business and is responsible for the design, planning and progression of new property developments from conception through to completion. James works closely with consultants, partners and key stakeholders directing the vision for each development, ensuring ideas become a reality, and has a passion for creating high-quality sustainable places.
Prior to joining Renaker, James was a Director at Allied London and Deloitte LLP. James’ experience stretches cross border, having worked in locations across Europe, the Far East and the Middle East. James qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 2011, holds a Diploma in Surveying and a BA (Hons) in Geography and Planning.

Lee Walne
Commercial Director
Lee has been with Renaker since 2009. Prior to his appointment as Commercial Director, Lee started as a Trainee Quantity Surveyor, and has held a variety of positions within the Commercial department, both at site level and within the pre-construction team. During his time within the business, Lee has demonstrated his ability to lead the Commercial function. Lee’s goal is to continue to successfully develop high-quality developments alongside colleagues, and to help nurture the next generation of talent. Lee holds a degree in Quantity Surveying.