Berkeley chiefs to reap £127m more in bonuses
Following the scandal at housebuilder Persimmon...
BOSSES at Berkeley Group stand to make a total of £127million in bonuses between now and 2023 despite the housebuilder putting a cap on its controversial incentive scheme after protests by investors.
The biggest winners are Tony Pidgley, Berkeley’s founder, and chief executive Rob Perrins who are in line to make £48million and £33million respectively.
The pair were among five bosses who shared £21.25 million last autumn and among six who shared £92 million in September 2016.
It follows the furore over rival builder Persimmon agreeing a share bonus to chief executive Jeff Fairburn currently valued at £133million. The huge payouts come despite a chronic shortage of homes. Berkeley, one of Britain’s biggest builders, made a £812 million profit last year when it sold 3,905 properties at an average of £675,000.
The Berkeley bonus scheme was put in place during the downturn in 2011 and began to pay out five years later. Since 2011 the share price has soared from £13 to £42.
After furious protests, Berkeley halved the maximum amounts that could be paid, but only after dishing out £92million in bonuses. Five executives will still receive a total of around £21million each year. It means the bosses are in line for a total of £240 million from the scaled back plan, assuming they hit performance targets.
Unlike Persimmon, Berkeley does not benefit from the taxpayerfunded Help to Buy scheme.
But even with the cap on bonuses, shareholder advisory group Pirc still called it ‘highly excessive’. Stefan Stern, director of independent research group the High Pay Centre, said long-term incentive plans are ‘badly conceived’.
Berkeley declined to comment.