Bosses’ last paycheek...

Persimmon pair quit over scandal

THE latest executive pay scandal has claimed the jobs of two top executives at one of Britain’s biggest builders.

The chairman of housebuilder Persimmon has been forced to quit after a row over the company’s outrageous pay deal for senior executives.

Management could share £600million, with chief executive Jeff Fairburn in line for £100m, under the incentive plan. It was introduced in 2012 to give share options to management, which they are able to sell once they have returned a set level of cash and dividends to investors.

But in the last five years, Persimmon’s share price has soared, sending the value of the incentive to stratospheric levels. Bosses are able to cash in from next year by selling up to 40% of their stake. The row led to the resignation of chairman Nicholas Wrigley yesterday. Chairman of the remuneration committee Jonathan Davie quit on Thursday.

In a statement, the company said: “Nicholas and Jonathan recognise that the 2012 long-term incentive plan could have included a cap. In recognition of this omission, they have tendered their resignations.”

The housebuilder said that since the scheme was introduced, it had increased the number of new homes it has built by more than 65% and invested £2.9billion in new land.

“The board believes that the... longterm incentive plan has been a significant factor in the company’s outstanding performance,” it said.