Meet The Team

James Hopkins’ first renovation project was a cottage in Halesworth in 1985. From there James grew his company into the largest independent homebuilder in East Anglia. Following the sale of Hopkins Homes, James retained ownership of Hopkins & Moore and renamed the company Denbury Homes. Building beautiful homes that reflect and complement the character of local towns and villages remains at the heart of Denbury’s approach. Together with his wife Selina, James established the Denbury Charitable Fund. Through the fund, Denbury supports charities, groups, and individuals across East Anglia. In addition to the work his charitable foundation undertakes, James, as a farmer, has a keen interest in the environment and legacy. He has commissioned work on his land which includes improving wildlife habitat and tree planting together with reinstatement of important ecological features, thus preserving and protecting land and habitat for future generations.

Brought up in Suffolk and Norfolk, Joshua worked in finance in London, Canada and Singapore before completing his master’s in real estate and joining the family business in 2016. Starting out as a land buyer, Joshua completed his professional qualifications to become a Chartered Surveyor and now oversees the land team and all land purchases. Joshua views the Denbury difference as down to harnessing the best of two worlds – the company’s long history gives the team a deep understanding of the local area, but this is combined with the excitement and energy of the team as they start a new chapter as Denbury Homes. Joshua is a keen horse rider and sailor and is considering getting a dog.    

Nick holds a BSc First Class Honours Degree in Quantity Surveying has over 15 years worth of experience working in the house building sector. Having joined the Hopkins Group as a Quantity Surveyor, Nick soon became Surveying Manager, and later in 2021 became Director of Operations for Denbury Homes. He understands that the ‘Denbury Difference’ is the ethos and the collective understanding of the Denbury team in delivering high quality new homes and providing excellent and focused customer service. Outside of work, Nick’s interests are keeping fit with sports and gym, travelling, and spending time with family and friends. He lives in a Denbury Home with his wife, his daughter and his British Short Hair Cat, Mila (better known as Mimi to the family).

Sara joined Denbury Homes having worked for the Hopkins Group for the last eight years. Starting as a Sales Consultant at Hopkins Homes before taking on the roles of Sales & Marketing Manager and Head of Sales & Marketing for Hopkins & Moore, Sara became Director of Sales & Marketing in January 2022. With a background in advertising and marketing, Sara has worked for global advertising agencies in London and the USA and was Marketing Manager at Ipswich Town Football Club for a time. Sara lives in Woodbridge with her husband Josh, George the Chihuahua (who often comes to the office), and Minnie, her rescue kitty.

Martin Bailey joins the Denbury Homes team as an Executive Director having worked for Hopkins Homes from 2001 to 2022 before Hopkins Homes was sold in January 2022. Martin has a wealth of experience spanning 30 years having also worked for Taylor Wimpey and Savills. He lives in Norfolk with his wife, two children and two dogs.

Michael is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds an MBA (with Distinction) from Cass Business School, London. Having worked for both private and national housebuilders, Michael holds over 36 years’ experience in housebuilding. Michael joined Hopkins Homes Limited in 2002 as Finance Director and became Managing Director in 2006, before retiring in 2021. Following his work with the Hopkins Group, Michael became a non-Executive Director of Denbury Homes Limited in 2022. Michael lives in north Suffolk with his wife Kirstein. They have four children and seven grandchildren, which occupies most of their time. Other than spending time with family, Michael enjoys travelling and messing about on his boat.