Edinburgh-based upmarket home builder Cala Homes said on Monday that its CEO Alan Brown is to retire.

Last month, Legal & General Group announced that its Legal & General Capital division acquired the 52.1% of Cala Homes which it did not previously own.

“Alan has been instrumental in driving the growth of the group, having been in a number of senior management and strategic roles over the last 32 years,” said Cala.

A search for a new chief executive has begun.

Brown will remain CEO until the end of April, when Graham Reid, group finance director, will assume the position of interim CEO.

Legal & General Capital CEO Kerrigan Procter said: “Cala has benefited greatly from Alan’s leadership over the last nine years as chief executive and we shall miss him.

“The group is much stronger and more resilient as a result of his direction and the board is confident of achieving continued and sustainable profitable growth well into future.”

Brown said: “This was not an easy decision.  I’ve spent nearly my entire career at Cala, working with a talented group of people to build the great business that it is today.

“When I took over as CEO, the company had significant challenges and as a team we’ve worked extremely hard to overcome those challenges and build a large and very successful business that now enjoys the long-term support of one of the UK’s blue chip companies …

“I will now be taking a short time out from corporate life in order to think about the sorts of roles and activities I wish to pursue in the next stage of my career.”