Pidgley’s pay package plunges

Berkeley Group chairman Tony Pidgley’s pay package will fall by at least £13.3m after the firm brings in pay caps on 1 May. It has announced changes to its remuneration policy that introduce caps for its executive directors. Pidgley will have his pay capped at £8.2m after earning £21.5m last year. Chief executive Rob Perrins’ cap will be £8m, having earned £11m last year. The housebuilder has also put a limit on the amount of share options its directors can exercise annually through its 10-year 2011 Long Term Incentive Plan. Berkeley said the level of reward had been “materially greater” than it had initially imagined. It said: “The committee is sensitive that the company has to a degree become a victim of its own success and that the potential remuneration payable at the top end of the current range may have reached the point of being simply too high irrespective of performance and therefore potentially unfair to other stakeholders.” The majority of directors’ pay in previous years came from the incentive scheme, with Pidgley’s share options netting him £19m of his £21.5m. Shares issued in the 2011 LTIP can be vested up to 2023 after a two-year extension was proposed to counter the cap. The cap includes a director’s salary, bonus, pension and LTIP, but does not include benefits. Meanwhile, the limit on fees paid to the seven non-executive directors will double from £500,000 to £1m. Berkeley said the change was made after a reassessment of the workload required, the level of responsibility, and what comparable companies pay to attract non-executives with the right skills and experience. The changes are dependent on a vote at an extraordinary general meeting on 23 February. Last month Berkeley said it would return cash to investors through share buybacks because, the present share price “materially undervalues” the company. It has so far bought around £11m. Pay caps under Bekeley’s long-term incentive plan Director 2016 LTIP (£m) 2016 total (£m) 2017 LTIP cap (£m) 2017 total cap (£m) Tony Pidgley 19.2 21.5 8 8.2 Rob Perrins 9.6 11 5.5 8 Richard Stearn – 0.8 2 3.2 Karl Whiteman 3.2 3.9 2 3.2 Sean Ellis 2.2 3 3.75 5 • To send feedback, e-mail karl.tomusk@estatesgazette.com or tweet @ktomusk or @estatesgazette