CLS Holdings has increased its executive directors’ pay by up to 53% as it searches for a new chief executive.
Following a review of 11 of its property peers plus FTSE 250 and small-cap companies, it has moved its four executive directors’ base salary from “lower quartile” to “average”.
Remuneration committee chairman Christopher Jarvis said the move was in the best interest of the company, given its substantial recent growth and “the challenge the committee faces in finding a new chief executive”.
This means executive chairman Sten Mortstedt, who has a 51.1% stake in the UK investor and developer, has received a 53% hike to his 2013 salary, taking it to £350,000 this year. Former chief executive Richard Tice’s base salary rises by 46% to £310,000.
Tice would have been on this increased level prior to ending his tenure as chief executive for a non-executive directorship in mid-February. Last year he took home £721,000, which included a £212,000 salary, a £138,000 bonus and a £356,000 award under the long-term incentive plan, but was not subject to a contractual termination payment.
Acting chief executive Henry Klotz and chief financial officer John Whiteley also received salary bumps of 45% and 28% respectively.
CLS reported a 13.6% increase in net assets per share in 2013 along with a 27.3% rise in pretax profit.
? SEGRO chief executive David Sleath saw his bonus almost double to £688,000 in 2013, according to the individual REIT’s latest annual report. This contributed to a total remuneration of £1.4m, which included £550,000 paid as salary.
bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
