The boss and co-founder of Fevertree Drinks (FEVR) saw a near-five fold increase in pay to £4million last year as he benefited from a continued rise in the company’s fortunes and share price. Tim Warrillow, who co-founded the posh mixer maker with Charles Rolls in 2005 and is the company’s chief executive, saw his pay packet jump from £844,000 in 2017 to £3.98million in 2018. Most of the rise, or just over £3million, is down to the introduction of a long term incentive plan that links pay to the company’s performance, with the award based 75% on turnover and 25% on underlying earnings. The rest of the pay package consists of basic salary of £368,000 and a bonus of £552,000. It comes as the group saw revenues rise 40% to £237.4million last year and pre-tax profits grow 34% to £75.6million compared to 2017.
Shares in Thomas Cook Group (TCG) jumped 17% today after reports over the Easter weekend that predators have made tentative approaches to buy some or all of the British holiday company. Potential buyers including China’s Fosun and US private equity firm KKR are reportedly considering buying its tour operating business – and even the company outright. Thomas Cook shares rose 17%, or 4.17p, to 28.67p in morning trading as the markets reopened after the long weekend. The takeover interest comes after Thomas Cook announced a potential sale of its Condor airline. One insider cautioned that the approaches were ‘highly preliminary’. It was unclear whether the company would be forced to confirm the bids.
Shares in Angling Direct (ANG) jumped today after the fishing equipment retailer reeled in strong sales at the start of the year. Despite a slump on the high street, like-for-like store sales at Britain’s largest fishing tackle retailer rose 28.5% in February and March, with total sales up 50.7% compared to the previous year. And while many other retailers are shutting down shops, Angling Direct opened a new store in Nottingham this month, bringing the total number of UK stores to 27. It said it was on track with its store roll out programme, with another 20 stores in the pipeline for the rest of the year. Boss Darren Bailey said: ‘Whilst other areas of the retail sector may be experiencing difficulties, we are delighted that our strategic focus on customer experience and service, as well as positioning our stores in the correct locations, is driving our growth and brand value.’
Property giant British Land Company (BLND) is disposing of 12 Sainsbury’s superstores as part of plans to reduce its exposure to the troubled retail sector. American property investment firm Realty Income Corporation has agreed to buy the stores for £429million, of which British Land will take home £193.5million – a ‘modest premium’ on the value recorded in September last year. The group, which has sold off nearly £1billion of assets since April, wants to reduce its retail assets to around 30 to 35% of its portfolio, down from around half currently. Recent disposals include the sale of Debenhams in Clapham, London and the Spirit pubs portfolio. This latest deal will leave the group with just six standalone superstores – about 1.3% of its portfolio.
Barclays (BARC) is clamping down on pay and bonuses for its casino bankers as it gears up for a confrontation with corporate raider Edward Bramson at its annual meeting next week. The bank is planning to scale back bonuses as part of an initiative to cut costs, according to a report in the Financial Times. Bramson, a US activist investor, has amassed a stake of more than 5% in the High Street bank through his company Sherborne Investors. He is demanding a seat on the board and calling for Barclays to scale back its investment banking division. Sources confirmed the bank would be keeping a close eye on pay and bonuses for investment bankers, who in the past have received enormous rewards.
The High Street enjoys a boost from warm Easter weather with visits up by more than 8% from last year. Shopkeepers enjoyed a boost in visitors over Easter as the warmer weather encouraged consumers to flock to the High Street. Visits surged by 6.5% on Good Friday compared with a year earlier and climbed by 1.2% on Saturday. By noon yesterday, activity had rocketed by 8.4%. The figures by analyst Springboard will come as a major relief for the High Street, which suffered a slump last year after storms forced families to stay at home. But a fall in visitors to shopping centres and retail parks dragged down the figures.
Housebuilder Persimmon (PSN) is braced for a fresh revolt over its controversial bonuses after shareholder advisers urged investors to vote against the company’s ‘highly excessive’ pay. Advisory group PIRC has instructed investors to oppose the pay report for a second year running at the annual meeting early next month. Last year, the FTSE 100 company narrowly escaped defeat over its bonus scheme for top bosses, but still suffered a major rebellion. The scheme included a bonus worth more than £100million for former boss Jeff Fairburn that was trimmed to around £75million after a public backlash. The bonus pot was boosted by the taxpayer-funded Help to Buy scheme. Persimmon, led by new chairman Roger Devlin, has attempted to draw a line under the scandal by trimming the overall payouts, ousting Fairburn, ensuring that all staff are paid more than the living wage, and making steps towards improving the quality of its homes.
