Morning:
3°c
Savills directors share £60m bonus pot despite the slump
Neil Millard09.03.09
Directors at Savills are set to share huge bonuses despite the housing market slump.
The estate agency's group director Jeremy Helsby and his board of directors will divide up a £60 million bonus pot, making the firm's underlying profits slump by more than £50 million.
The firm is currently selling actor Rik Mayall's £4.75 million Notting Hill house and a £33 million flat in Knightsbridge.
On Wednesday the FTSE 250 firm is expected to report underlying profits of £33 million to the Stock Exchange, down from £85.5 million last year.
The firm could not comment ahead of the announcement but a Savills source said all 3,000 of its staff would benefit from the £60 million bonus pool, which, he said, was far lass than the £123 million shared last year.
Then Mr Helsby's bonus took his total earnings to £1.4 million, far above his annual salary of £112,000.
The source said Savills deliberately offered lower basic salaries and used the bonus pool as an incentive for staff, adding: "This is not about fat cats creaming off the profits."
Those set to benefit from the recession-defying windfall include Savills' chairman Peter Smith and board directors Robert McKellar, Rupert Sebag-Montefiore and Simon Hope.
In a statement on Savills' website, Mr Helsby hints at the resilience that has made the payout possible, describing the firm's culture as its "greatest asset" over its competitors.
This is despite a profits warning in December that prompted analysts to slash forecasts to £32 million.
As markets opened this morning its shares were trading at 253p, down nearly 25 per cent in a year.
Reader views (1)
The fact that they go to deny being fat cats shouldn't fool anyone. These are not pleasant characters, greedy, selfish and uncaring - Wupert and Jerwemy are particularly nasty characters, don't be fooled by the suits and silk ties. Not a jot of integrity between them.
- Sam, London
