Vistry announces new board appointments

Vistry has announced the appointment of a former media executive to its board.

Rob Woodward will join the £3bn-turnover housebuilder as senior independent director from 16 May.

Woodward has been chair of the Met Office since 2018, before that he worked in various roles, including chief executive of STV Group for more than 11 years, commercial director of Channel 4 and lead partner for Deloitte’s Telecoms, Media & Technology Industry Group in Europe.

Woodward is also currently chair of court at Glasgow Caledonian University and Chair of listed marketing analytics provider, Ebiquity.

Woodward’s role on the Vistry will include providing governance oversight, engaging with investors and stakeholders, chairing the nomination committee, recruiting board members and overseeing succession planning for senior executives.

The move follows Greg Fitzgerald in January taking on the executive chair role in addition to chief executive.

Vistry also announced today that Alice Woodwark will also join as a non-executive director. Woodwark is managing director Mitie Group’s communities division and has previously worked for management consultancy giant McKinsey in the infrastructure, transport, hospitality and retail sectors.

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Chris Browne has also agreed to stay on the board for one more year to “ensure continuity on the board and allow more time to recruit a second non-executive director”.

Ralph Findlay ,chair of Vistry said, said: “ commented “Rob and Alice’s respective experience in both the public and private sectors will be hugely valuable as we continue to execute the Group’s Partnership strategy. We will continue our search for a second non-executive director and will update the market on our progress with this appointment in due course.”

Vistry last month reported improved revenue and pre-tax profit as it continues its transition to a partnerships-focused business.

In its results for the year to 31 December 2023, Vistry posted revenue of £3.56bn, up 28.6% on £2.77bn the year prior. Profit before tax of £305m was recorded, a 23.2% on the £248m it made in 2022.

It comes after the housebuilder announced a major strategic pivot last September, merging its traditional housebuilding arm into its partnerships business and subsequently announcing a series of large “portfolio deals”.