British American Tobacco stock: Board change and buyback shape week

Published on 10/31/2026 at 10:50 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

British American Tobacco stock enters the weekend after a planned board appointment and continued share repurchases. Both moves matter for governance and capital allocation.

Board and capital allocation developments

Bruce Sewell will join BAT's board as an independent non-executive director on January 1, 2027.
BAT bought 610,171 shares between October 19 and October 23 for planned cancellation.
The buyback will reduce the number of ordinary shares carrying voting rights to 2,155,557,220.

BAT, GB0002875804, Illustration mit AI erstellt.

British American Tobacco stock enters the weekend after two company developments: BAT announced Bruce Sewell as a future independent non-executive director on Wednesday, October 28, and disclosed a further share buyback earlier in the week.

BAT said in an announcement carried by Moneyweb that Sewell will join the board on January 1, 2027. He will also serve on the Audit and Nominations Committees. Sewell previously held senior legal and compliance roles at Apple and Intel and is a director at Vail Resorts and C3.ai.

Governance and capital allocation

The board announcement also set out committee changes effective November 30, including moves involving Véronique Laury and Serpil Timuray. For investors, the appointment adds technology, regulatory and listed-company board experience to BAT's oversight as the group pursues its Horizon 2030 strategy.

Separately, BAT bought 610,171 ordinary shares over five London Stock Exchange sessions from October 19 through October 23. The company intends to cancel the shares. The transaction notice, published by Investegate from the RNS service, said BAT would have 2,155,557,220 ordinary shares carrying voting rights after the purchase and cancellation, with 132,648,864 shares held in treasury.

British American Tobacco stock traded at 54.97 euros on Lang & Schwarz at 10:47 CET on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Investors can follow the real-time quote of British American Tobacco stock.