David Stewart has been appointed group chief executive officer of LSL.

Stewart has been a non-executive director of the board of LSL since May 2015. He served as chief executive of Coventry Building Society between July 2006 and March 2014, having previously performed the roles of finance director and operations director.

Prior to that, he held a number of board positions in financial services businesses.

Ian Crabb, current group chief executive officer, has left the business and will be available to assist the handover of the role to Stewart for a number of months.

Simon Embley, non executive chair of LSL, said: “I am delighted that David Stewart has agreed to take on the role of group CEO. Since joining the board in 2015 he has made a very significant contribution to our strategy as well as to our governance framework as chair of the audit & risk committee.

“David is an experienced chief executive, with a track record of success both in growing businesses and in managing during periods of uncertainty. His detailed knowledge of financial services will be invaluable as we seek to continue to build our capability in this sector, whilst maximising the potential of our estate agency and surveying operations. Having worked closely with him, I am confident he is the right person to take the group forward.

“I also want to place on record the Board’s thanks and my personal appreciation for the part Ian Crabb has played in the group’s development since he joined us in 2013, Ian has always acted with the highest standards of integrity and professionalism, and I wish him every future success.”

Stewart added: “I’m delighted to have been asked to lead LSL. We have a significant opportunity to grow our financial services business and to capitalise on leading positions in estate agency and surveying.

“I look forward to working with an outstanding management team to realise the Group’s potential and deal effectively with the impact of the Covid-19 virus.”