Babcock boss bows out after shares grow sixfold
The boss of Babcock is to step down after presiding over a sixfold increase in the company’s share price during his five-year tenure.
David Lockwood, who joined the defence giant as its chief executive in September 2020, will step down from the company’s board at the end of the year, the firm revealed on Friday.
Lockwood, who plans to retire after stepping down, was previously chief executive of British aerospace firm Cobham, which was acquired in 2020 by US private equity firm Advent for £4bn. Before that, he was the boss of London-based electronics firm Laird, which would also later be acquired by Advent. He received an OBE for services to industry in Scotland in 2011.
Lockwood will be replaced by Harry Holt, the current chief executive of Babcock’s Nuclear sector, the largest segment in the business.
Holt previously spent over a decade at Rolls-Royce, seven of those on their executive team in a number of senior roles, including president of its nuclear division and, latterly, as chief people officer. He was previously an officer in the British army.
“I would like to pay tribute to David’s inspirational leadership that has put Babcock on an excellent footing from which we can continue to grow and am looking forward to working with him through the transition period,” Holt said.
Babcock sees strong demand
The FTSE 100 constituent, which has seen its stock soar on the back of renewed pledges for increases in defence spending by European countries, today said it had seen a “continuation of the strong performance” it had previously reported in the final quarter of 2025, with the “vast majority” of forecast revenue for the year now contracted.
The London-based business said it saw particularly strong demand in its nuclear segment, driven by new-build clean energy projects and submarine support activities, and added that it was likely to meet its full-year margin target of 8 per cent.
The company is involved in the French “Mentor 2” programme to modernise pilot training for the air force, as well as supporting the US Virginia Class submarine build.
Babcock shares fell 2.9 per cent to 1422p on Friday morning. The stock has remained up by 11.7 per cent since the start of the year.
“Babcock’s business momentum and operational performance have continued through the period with consistent delivery of our unique and critical capabilities for our customers around the world,” the company said.