Hugo has a passion for new residential communities, and creating 'homes for our future' rather than 'brick boxes from our past'.

Hugo has spent all his professional life so far as a residential developer, having left Manchester University with a degree in Architecture. He spent a number years in the land department at Berkeley Homes undertaking formal training, before being head-hunted by Countryside Properties plc to head up a new office for their design-led subsidiary, Copthorn Homes. For 4 years, he managed the acquisition, design and finances for numerous projects, including several large urban regeneration schemes of up to 2,000 homes, with development values of up to £300 million. One of his developments was cited for good design when Copthorn won the coveted Housebuilder of the Year award in 2003.

At Copthorn Homes, Hugo also worked closely with Housing Associations to promote socially sustainable schemes containing a mix of private and affordable homes.

In 2004 Hugo left Countryside to establish his own business, Black Reeve Ltd, which focused on securing residential land, planning, and investments. BR remains a small but profitable business. In this role, he started working as a consultant for Bob Tomlinson and Carole Salmon of Living Villages, to help them secure new development opportunities. Such was Hugo's confidence in the potential of Living Villages as a fresh and better approach to housebuilding, that he joined them full time in 2006 as Managing Director and co-shareholder.