"It was not an easy decision to step down ... but it is the right thing for me at this time," White said in a statement.

A qualified chartered accountant, White joined Barratt 15 years ago and was appointed to the role of head of financial accounting in 2007. She was promoted to group financial controller in 2010.

"As CFO, Jessica ... has played an instrumental role in driving Barratt towards our medium-term targets," Chairman John Allan said.

The FTSE 100 housebuilder last month said it continued to see strong demand after record house sales in the last six months of 2020, enabling it to reinstate its dividend as promised. It also said it had a solid start to the second half of its financial year.

(Reporting by Muvija M and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shailesh Kuber)