Countrywide has abandoned plans to overhaul its remuneration policy in a move that would have seen its three most senior executives receive £20m in incentive payments, following push-back from shareholders and representative bodies.
The estate agency group said today that its consultation meetings on remuneration with the major shareholders ahead of its annual general meeting have been “both constructive and supportive”.
However, it said that the board has decided not to amend the directors’ remuneration policy after shareholders questioned whether a focus on rebuilding shareholder value was “sufficient to merit moving from the existing remuneration policy”.
Shareholders had been due to vote on the proposed incentive scheme, or the “Absolute Growth Plan”, at an extraordinary general meeting next week.
It will go ahead with plans to raise £140m of additional equity as part of its three-year turnaround plan and return to growth strategy, which it said were supported by both existing and new shareholders.
The company said that the equity raising, subject to approval on 28 August, “will provide the group with greater long-term certainty, flexibility and balance sheet strength, and will allow management to fully focus on the three-year turnaround plan and return to growth strategy”.
Earlier this month, the company announced its 2018 half year results. Income from the sales and lettings declined in the first six months of the year by 12% to £159.1m, while its financial services and B2B segments declined by 6% and 4% respectively, to £40.2m and £103.7m.
These announcements follow a disappointing 2017 for Countrywide. The company reported a £208.1m loss in its full year results in March, alongside an 8.8% fall in income to £671.9m, which it attributed to poor performance in its sales and lettings division.
Earlier this year, chief executive Alison Platt resigned after a slump in shares triggered by a profit warning.
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