He will take the post on 1 July 2013, in place of Ian Baker who stepped down last year due to ill health.
"After an extensive search internally and externally for the position, Andrew was selected for his strong financial background and track record of delivering exceptional financial and operational results in a fiercely competitive market," the company said.
Mr Richards joined the Galliford Try group via its acquisition of Morrison Project Investments in April 2006. He said of his new promotion: “I am delighted to join the team at Linden Homes. With my financial background and focus on strategic analysis, I am confident that I will bring a new dimension to the already strong management team. I intend to continue to drive our focus towards margin improvement and positively challenge the existing policies in place.”
In a separately announcement, Galliford Try said that its housebuilding operation was “experiencing encouraging levels of reservations”. Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said that he welcomed the government's new Help To Buy scheme, adding: “The early signs of its impact are encouraging and we expect an increase in completion levels from next year.”
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Reservations are up 6% per outlet so far this year and the sales rate per week is up from 0.6 to 0.7.
A company record of £836m is in the books for sales reserved, contracted or completed, of which £632m is for the current financial year to 30 June 2013 (2012: £774m and £625m respectively).
Mr Fitzgerald said that the construction division was also stable, with the order book steady at £1.6bn. Work was being won but “pricing remains challenging”, he said.
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