Former Melrose bosses take chunk of £180m bonus scheme
Three former bosses at Melrose Industries have raked in the largest share of a £180m bonus scheme shortly after leaving the group following more than two decades of dealmaking.
Melrose, which specialises in acquiring and ramping up the performance of manufacturing companies, said on Monday it had paid out share bonuses as part of its 2020 employee share plan.
Melrose’ current chief executive Peter Dilnot netted shares valued at over £1m, according to the statement.
Sources told the Financial Times that two co-founders, former chief executive Simon Peckham and former vice chair Christopher Miller were the biggest beneficiaries, alongside Geoffrey Martin, who was previously finance director.
The three executives have all left the company within the past twelve months.
Melrose’s incentive scheme was brought in 2020 and grants top-level directors and senior staff shares worth 7.5 per cent of any increase in market value. In the period since the scheme was launched, Melrose’s market value rose from less than £4bn to £8bn.
In its statement to markets, Melrose revealed it had cut the amount of shares paid out to cover the tax payable by those participating in the scheme.
Shares in the company, which owns GKN Aerospace, are up over 25 per cent in the last 12 months. It raised its guidance for 2024 in March after reporting better than expected profit, including £3.4bn in revenue.
The news came as Martin and Miller followed CEO Peckham in stepping down from the company, after two decades at the firm which saw them build up a loyal City following.
“During their tenure, the business has grown from a start-up in 2003, to a well-positioned FTSE100 enterprise, having delivered total returns of capital of over £8 billion to shareholders, and an average return of 2.5x shareholders’ equity for the businesses sold under the previous business model,” the company told markets at the time.