McCarthy Stone, a developer and manager of retirement communities, has appointed Ciaran Aldridge as managing director for its Northern division, managing the division’s land and construction budget which will total around £250 million over the next three years.

Aldridge was previously national property director at supermarket operator Aldi since 2016, responsible for coordinating Aldi’s property strategy and for expanding the business, which now has more than 1,150 stores throughout the UK and Ireland. He was at Aldi for a total of 16 years.

McCarthy Stone’s Northern division is currently selling across 28 developments. The division also has 11 retirement communities under construction and its land team is looking to buy at least 12 new sites a year.

John Tonkiss, chief executive of McCarthy Stone, said: “[Aldridge] has superb knowledge and experience of the development world given his time at Aldi and will be integral to helping us open new high-quality and affordable retirement communities across the North”.

Aldridge added: “Our ageing population means we need to provide more and better housing options for those in later life so I’m hugely excited about joining McCarthy Stone. I will use my extensive experience of the land market to help more older people enjoy the many benefits of living in a retirement community.”