Poundland to replace veteran CEO with former Kingfisher man

* Former B&Q boss to replace long-serving Jim McCarthy

* McCarthy to retire in September

* Poundland faces slowing sales growth in UK, lower profits

* Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) fall 3 pct (Recasts with CEO comments, updates shares)

By James Davey

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - British discount retailer Poundland has recruited a former executive of Kingfisher (LSE: KGF.L - news) , Europe's largest home improvement retailer, to succeed its veteran chief executive as it targets further overseas expansion to offset an increasingly tough home market.

Poundland, which sells everything at the single price point of 1 pound, said on Wednesday that Jim McCarthy, its chief executive for the past decade, had decided to retire and would be replaced by Kevin O'Byrne in July.

Under McCarthy, Poundland has grown from 146 stores with sales of 310 million pounds ($433 million) to a business with over 900 shops in Britain, Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) and Spain, adding 1 billion pounds of sales.

However, sales growth has slowed, profits are expected to fall in its 2015-16 financial year and its purchase of rival 99p Stores for 55 million pounds in 2015 was problematic, raising questions over the durability of its single price model.

O'Byrne, 51, was finance director of electricals chain Dixons Retail before joining Kingfisher in 2008, serving as its finance chief before leading its B&Q and Koçta businesses in China, Turkey, Germany and Britain.

He left Kingfisher in May 2015, having lost out to Veronique Laury for the CEO role.

"In Kevin we have a very experienced executive with international experience as well, that's going to be very important to us going forward as part of our growth plans," McCarthy told Reuters.

As of January the group traded from 628 Poundland stores and 227 99p Stores outlets in Britain as well as 51 Dealz stores in Ireland.

The firm also has a 10-store Dealz trial in Spain, using a similar single-price formula. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is yet to decide on a roll-out but believes there could be scope for 400 stores. Other European markets are also being examined.

Poundland said O'Byrne would join the board as CEO designate on April 4 and become CEO on July 1.

McCarthy, 60, who led Poundland's flotation on the London Stock Exchange in March 2014, will formally step down at the company's annual shareholder meeting in September.

Poundland shares, listed at 300 pence, have slumped 53 percent over the last year. They slipped 3 percent to 176 pence at 1207 GMT, valuing the business at around 471 million pounds.

McCarthy, a former Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 's executive and 43-year veteran of the retail sector, said his decision to retire was entirely his own. He has a 3.5 percent stake in Poundland.

"I love my job, I love Poundland and I love customers but I'm not getting any younger. I haven't spent much time over those 43 years with my family and I'm creaking a bit physically," he said. ($1 = 0.7179 pounds) (editing by Keith Weir)