UK's Barratt Redrow appoints ex-British Airways finance chief as CFO

(Corrects spelling of interim deputy CFO's name in paragraph 4 to 'Micheal Passmore' from 'Michael Passmore')

By Simone Lobo

June 19 (Reuters) - Barratt Redrow on Friday named former British Airways finance chief Rebecca Napier as its new chief financial officer, bringing in fresh leadership as Britain's biggest homebuilder battles surging construction costs and weaker buyer demand.

Napier, who most recently served as CFO at drinks maker Britvic until its sale to Carlsberg last year and previously spent 17 years at airline group IAG , joins as the sector faces mounting cost pressures linked to higher energy prices that prompted Barratt to slash land approval targets by up to 30% in April.

The appointment is part of a broader leadership overhaul, with CEO David Thomas set to retire after more than a decade in the role. He will be succeeded by infrastructure services provider Ventia CEO Dean Banks, who takes over in the final quarter of 2026.

Napier's predecessor Mike Scott left abruptly in November 2025, with Micheal Passmore serving as interim deputy CFO since then.

Higher energy prices linked to the Iran war have pushed up costs for energy-intensive materials across the sector, squeezing profit margins and prompting rivals Taylor Wimpey and Vistry to issue profit warnings. Homebuilders have also resorted to heavy discounting to stimulate demand from increasingly cautious buyers.

Barratt Chair Caroline Silver said Napier's "energy, discipline and capital markets experience" would be critical as the company navigates what outgoing CEO Thomas has described as limited visibility beyond the current financial year.

"The Group now has a new CFO and CEO announced which should reassure markets and assuage fears around the gaps at the Board level seen over the recent months," said Investec analyst Aynsley Lammin.

Shares of the FTSE 100 <.FTSE 100> company, which have fallen 30.8% so far this year, were down 0.5% at 0755 GMT.

(Reporting by Simone Lobo and Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)