Finance
UK homebuilder vistry's CEO and chair greg fitzgerald to retire
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 4, 2026
3 min readLast updated: March 4, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 4, 2026
3 min readLast updated: March 4, 2026
Vistry Group CEO and Chair Greg Fitzgerald, who has led the homebuilder since 2017 and oversaw its shift to a partnerships model alongside navigating major profit setbacks, plans to retire, prompting separation of the dual roles.
March 4 (Reuters) - British homebuilder Vistry's shares dropped more than 20% on Wednesday after the company said profit margins would fall in 2026 and that CEO and executive chair Greg Fitzgerald is to retire.
The company's shares fell nearly 25% in early trading to a near decade low of 475 pence, and were the biggest fallers on the FTSE mid-cap index.
Vistry said that in 2026 it expects a lower overall margin reflecting incentives offered during a current sales initiative.
UK homebuilders have had a turbulent time, as tax uncertainties ahead of November's budget and affordability pressures have weighed on sales rates and orders.
Fitzgerald will step down as chairman at the annual meeting in May, but continue as CEO for up to 12 months or until a successor is appointed. The roles of CEO and Chairman will be separated after his retirement, the company said.
During his tenure of nearly nine years, Fitzgerald has steered the company through a series of crises, including customer-service issues and takeover pressures.
Vistry becomes the latest UK builder to warn on profits as it has had to use discounts and incentives to drive sales momentum amid subdued private-buyer demand.
The company's home completions fell 9% to 15,658 units in 2025.
Bigger rivals including Persimmon have also been relying on marketing schemes and incentives, including discounts, to stimulate demand.
Vistry said its open market sales rates so far in 2026 were running more than 40% ahead of last year due to targeted pricing initiatives.
It reported 2025 adjusted profit before tax of 268.8 million pounds ($359.22 million), up 2% from a year earlier, but below market expectations of 271.5 million pounds, based on LSEG data.
Vistry expects to achieve net cash of about 100 million pounds by the end of 2026 and said it would complete the remaining 29 million pounds of its current share buyback but proposed no further capital returns to prioritise debt reduction.
Separately, Britain's largest homebuilder Barratt Redrow said its CEO David Thomas will retire after 11 years at the helm.
($1 = 0.7483 pounds)
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job and Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Jane Merriman)
Greg Fitzgerald, the Chief Executive and Chair of Vistry Group, is retiring.
After Greg Fitzgerald retires, Vistry will separate the roles of CEO and Chair.
The announcement was made on March 4, as reported by Vistry.
Vistry Group operates in the UK homebuilding and finance sector.
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