Castleton, currently group chief financial officer, will new to his new role in May after the firm’s nominations committee said the appointment was “conducted by an external executive search organisation”.

The move comes as the group — which owns Primus, TMA Club, Your Move and e.surv — adds that it expects full-year sales to jump by around 20%, in a stock market trading statement.

Castleton joined LSL in 2015 as head of finance, and has as over 35 years of experience in corporate leadership roles including O2 UK, eBay, and The Walt Disney Company.  He started his career as a chartered accountant at Price Waterhouse in 1989.

The group adds that after a handover period, Stewart will remain as a non-executive director of the group companies forming its financial services network.

Chair Adrian Collins says: “The board is very confident in Adam as the right person to lead LSL forwards, due to his detailed knowledge of our business, his breadth and depth of experience in corporate leadership and his close engagement with our investor community.”

The appointment comes as the group says it expects full-year revenues to rise by around 20% to £173m, and forecast underlying operating profit will be “significantly ahead of the prior year,” in a separate trading statement.

It says profit rose at its financial services as its overall share of the UK purchase and remortgage market increased to 11.6% over the period.

The group’s surveying & valuation unit “increased materially” benefiting from normalising market conditions and contract extensions.

Its estate agency franchising division completed its first full year with an entirely franchised branch network, delivering an increase in profits as operating margins hit a record high of 28%.

The group says: “While current economic sentiment, higher interest rates, and the increase in employer national insurance costs constitute headwinds, we entered the year with stronger pipelines than in 2024 and January trading is in line with expectations.”