Team

Sir John Mactaggart

Sir John is the longest serving member on the Board, appointed in 1988 and until 2011 was the company’s chairman. He has worked in the commercial and residential real estate development, investment and management business in London and New York for over 50 years. He is a Non-Executive Director of Mactaggart Heritable Ltd, sits on the Investment Committee of Mactaggart Family & Partners and is actively involved with a number of public and private charities. He advises the company on strategic property issues and is a Founding Trustee of Commonweal Housing, an award-winning housing research charity.

Sir John was a member of Trinity College Cambridge’s Investment Committee 1990-2015 and served on the BPF’s Commercial Property and Residential Large Landlords committees.

In 1972 Sir John co-founded Central & City Properties, in partnership with David King, and over the next 20 years they developed more than 30 commercial buildings in the City and the West End of London.

Sir John holds an MA (Hons) in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge and is a lapsed Fellow of the RICS.

Laurence Newman MBE

Laurence Newman spent 20 years at the London office of international accountants and consultants KPMG, where among other leadership roles he was the partner leading KPMG’s work in leisure and tourism. Between 2003 and 2011 he ran Big Picture Consulting, a specialised consulting and project management practice. Laurence was a Non Executive member of the Board at Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust between 2009 and 2011, and then was appointed as the Trust Board Chairman, serving from 2011 to 2019. During his time as Chairman, the Trust achieved a ‘good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission and was selected as one of the top 5 priority Trusts in England in the new hospitals building programme.

He is currently the Chairman of Grove End Housing Ltd which owns and manages nearly 300 upmarket apartments in St John’s Wood, London. In 2025 the Grove End Charitable Trust was established with Laurence as its first Chairman. He is also the Chairman of Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE), an education and creativity charity that works globally to improve educational outcomes through the development of creative learning. Laurence was a Trustee of Comic Relief between 1997 and 2010 and a member of their Investment Advisory Committee between 2010 and 2022.

Laurence was appointed an MBE in the 2025 New Years Honours List.

Debra Yudolph

Debra joined the company in 2010 with over 30 years experience in residential property. For nine years to 2009, she was Director of Asset and Property Management at Grainger plc, the UK’s largest quoted residential landlord before setting up SAY providing management consultancy services to property owners, developers and investors. She is an expert in residential property and asset management with a particular focus on the private rented sector. Debra has non executive roles on the boards of M&G Shared Ownership and Deverell Smith Recruitment and is a recognised spokesperson on behalf of the private rented sector. Debra has had a long history with Grove End Gardens having worked for KFH and managed the property over 30 years ago.

John Adams

John is the Non-Executive of Grove End Housing Ltd. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants with 40 years of work experience as a partner in professional practice and subsequently as a financial director acting in both executive and non-executive capacities.

John is currently a non-executive director of a number of commercial and residential property companies. He has considerable experience in business start-ups, corporate acquisitions and disposals and takes responsibility for ensuring that corporate governance and financial reporting processes are in place to support growth.

John holds a BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Exeter.

Jack Mactaggart

Jack is a Director at Mactaggart Family & Partners. He is a Director of Mactaggart Heritable Ltd and sits on the Mactaggart TopCo boards. He is a Director of Resident Hotels and Chairs the Resident Hotel PropCo’s. 
He is a Chartered Surveyor, with a focus on Central London Commercial Investment.
He is currently a Trustee (and previous Chair) of Commonweal Housing, an action learning charity working to investigate, test and share housing solutions to social injustice.

Jack holds a BSocSc in Politics and International Relations, an MSc in Real Estate, is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS) and is a Financial Conduct Authority Approved Person.

Gary Medazoumian Chief Executive

Gary is the Chief Executive and company secretary of Grove End Housing with overall responsibility for the company’s finance function. He has over 40 years professional experience in the residential property sector including in many aspects of auditing, finance and treasury for the not for profit and the wider public sectors. As CEO Gary is responsible for the overall management of the business and has been involved in all aspects of the company’s development projects and strategic decisions. Prior to joining the Board in 2002, Gary was a senior manager at RSM responsible for Grove end’s audit, accounting and tax reporting directly to the Chairman. Gary is a cofounding Trustee and Treasurer of Commonweal Housing, an award-winning housing research charity. Gary has a BA (Hons) in Business Studies and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.