Britain’s biggest house-builder extended a two-day housing rally on Thursday after appointing ex-British Airways finance chief Rebecca Napier as CFO.
Shares in Barratt Redrow (LSE:BTRW) rose approximately 4% on Thursday morning after the UK’s biggest house-builder announced the appointment of Rebecca Napier as chief financial officer, extending a two-day rally in UK housing stocks and offering markets some reassurance on leadership continuity.
Shares are trading at 292.2p on Thursday, up 3.99% from Wednesday’s close of 281p. The advance follows a gain of more than 6% on Wednesday, when UK house-builders broadly rose. Barratt Redrow has recovered from lows of around 242p seen in early June, though shares remain well below the 354p level recorded in early March.
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Napier, who previously served as finance chief at Britvic and British Airways, steps into the chief financial officer role with Michael Passmore having held the finance function on an interim basis. The appointment brings fresh financial leadership to a group already navigating a chief executive transition: Dean Banks is expected to join as group chief executive in the final quarter of 2026.
The appointment comes as a long-term shareholder also pressed for action on capital allocation. Phoenix Asset Management Partners, which says it has been invested in the business since 1998, publicly called on Barratt Redrow on Wednesday to materially increase its share buyback programme beyond the existing £100m plan. Gary Channon, Phoenix’s chief investment officer, said: “At today’s valuation, buying back its own shares is an exceptional opportunity, and we believe the company can pursue it aggressively while continuing to grow output.”
Britain’s biggest house-builder was formed in October 2024 when Barratt completed a £2.5bn acquisition of Redrow. The combined group has since faced a testing environment: first-half underlying pre-tax profit fell 13.6% to £199.9m as weaker consumer confidence and affordability pressures weighed on demand. The company has also warned that escalating energy costs linked to the Middle East conflict are likely to feed through to building material costs in the year ahead. Wednesday’s sector rally was partly driven by Berkeley Group’s annual results and by Segro’s rejection of a £12.6bn takeover approach from US logistics property group Prologis, which lifted broader real estate sentiment.
Analyst views are mixed and with a new finance chief confirmed and a new chief executive arriving in the final quarter of the year, markets will be watching for signals on how the incoming leadership intends to address rising build costs and subdued buyer demand.