Appointment follows previous CFO’s sudden departure in March
Stonewater has appointed Kirsty Spark as its new chief financial officer, joining from her current CFO position at Accent Group.
The appointment comes after the 40,000-home landlord’s previous CFO, Anne Costain, departed with “immediate effect” in March 2026. No explanation was given for Costain’s departure after holding the role for more than four years. Francesco Elia has been serving as interim chief financial officer since.
Spark has worked for 21,600-home Accent for almost eight years and previously served as director of financial resources at Leeds City College and as a project accountant at Incommunities Housing.
She is currently a board and audit committee member as well as chair of the governance and remuneration committee at Leeds Federated Housing Association.
Since joining Accent in 2018 as financial controller, Spark progressed to chief financial officer and is credited with helping secure the organisation’s landmark £350m bond.
She will take up her new position at Stonewater on 24 November 2026. The organisation has G1, V2 and C2 gradings for governance, viability and consumer standards.
Stonewater is currently consulting on plans to fully fold 1,600-home subsidiary Mount Green Housing Association into the group.
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