LONDON (Reuters) - British wealth manager St James's Place said on Thursday it had hired UBS executive Caroline Waddington to be its chief financial officer, succeeding Craig Gentle who plans to retire.

Waddington was previously chief financial officer of UBS's Credit Suisse entities in Britain, following the takeover of the stricken Swiss bank by its rival.

She will join SJP in the second half of the year, at which point Gentle - who has served as CFO since January 2018 - will step down as a director. He will remain for a short period to ensure an orderly handover, the company said.

(Reporting by Iain Withers, editing by Sinead Cruise)