£1m for disgraced building boss

DISGRACED developer Bovis Homes last night revealed its former boss was paid more than £1m last year – as it was labelled the worst housebuilder in Britain in a major industry report.

David Ritchie, who quit in January following a profits warnings and a barrage of customer complaints, topped up his £550,000 basic salary with a bonus of £55,000 and share awards of £255,000.

A string of other perks and payments took his total package for 2016 to £1,029,000, although this was down from £1.5m the previous year.

The revelations, in the company’s annual report, came just hours after Bovis saw its rating as a builder cut from three stars to two stars – making it the worst rated of 34 firms surveyed.

The ratings, by the Home Builders Federation, are based on how satisfied customers are with the quality of their new home and whether they would recommend their builder to a friend.

Bovis has been heavily criticised for offering families thousands of pounds to move into unfinished homes in a desperate bid to hit sales targets. It has also set aside £7m to deal with complaints over shoddy workmanship.