The Aston-driving tower refurb boss and a £473k pay rise
THE firm that refurbished Grenfell Tower before the fire has seen its profits rise by 60 per cent in two years.
Rydon’s best-paid director – thought to be owner Robert Bond – has enjoyed a salary increase of 12 per cent to £473,000 over the same period.
The company was paid £ .6million to oversee the refurbishment of the tower block between 2014 and 2016, when cutprice flammable cladding was installed.
Five months after the blaze in June 2017, Rydon collected four awards at a building industry ceremony in a London hotel. One of the awards it won under the crystal chandeliers at the Four Seasons was for ‘relations with the community’ for its work on the Chalcots estate in Camden, north London.
Rydon, along with other firms that worked on that project, is being sued for £130million in the High Court in London to cover the cost of stripping combustible cladding, employing fire marshals and installing adequate fire prevention measures. The East Sussex firm was still, however, put on the official government list of firms recommended to work on highrise housing three months ago.
Following a public outcry, housing minister Robert Jenrick said Rydon should not bid for projects ‘until we have the full results of the [Grenfell] inquiry’.
The latest two sets of annual financial accounts – filed after the completion of the renovation work at Grenfell – show how well Rydon has done. Its profits have increased from £12.7million to £20.5million in two years.
Over the same period, the salary of the company’s highest- paid director increased from £424,000 to £473,000.
Mr Bond lives in a £3million mansion on a private estate in south-east London and drives an Aston Martin with a ‘Bond’ number plate. Facebook pictures show Mr Bond and his wife Tina holidaying on a yacht and posing in front of a Ferrari.
Rydon did not respond to requests for comment last night.