His sudden departure comes after five years in the role and nearly 12 years at the house builder.

Ben Marks, financial controller, will now work closely with group managing director Rob Perrins to manage the financial function of Berkeley pending the recruitment of a new finance director.

Berkeley Chairman Tony Pidgley said: “The Board of Berkeley wishes Nick Simpkin all the best for the future.”

At the start of this month Berkeley said in a trading statement that it had seen a cooling in demand in its key London and south east markets where demand was returning to normal levels.

The firm said it was on course to deliver several dividend payments as part of its plan to return cash to shareholders.

Berkeley currently expects to remain ungeared following a dividend payment of 90p per share on 26 September.

A further 180p per share is payable as dividends in order to meet the first milestone of paying 434p per share by September 2015.

Previously the board indicated that it aimed to make regular dividend payments where conditions permit and said it was on track to meet this commitment.

The recent boom in house prices in the capital has seen land prices rise steeply and this is putting pressure on house builders looking to maintain land banks.