Offaly-born chief executive John Lyttle in line for £1m payment if plan is approved
This includes a bonus of £1m for Offaly-born chief executive John Lyttle.
Boohoo Group, which owns 13 fashion brands, recorded a loss of £160m in the year ended February 2024. It is now set to facing challenges from shareholders at its annual general meeting (AGM) next month, according to a Times report.
In its annual report published this month, the retailer outlined plans to pay bonuses of £1m to Mr Lyttle, as well as to co-founders Carol Kane and Mahmud Kamani.
Ms Kane is now an executive director at the group, while Mr Kamani is executive chairman.
The three executives were not entitled to the bonus in the most recent financial year as financial targets were not met, the report’s remuneration report found.
However, the remuneration committee opted to pay the bonuses due to the fact that the “formulaic outcome is not an accurate reflection of the excellent work carried out during the year to set the business up for future success.”
The £1m bonus was divided into a £300,000 payment and £700,000 in shares.
For Mr Lyttle, this was 49.1pc of the maximum annual bonus, while Ms Kane and Mr Kamani received 67.1pc of the maximum.
Including the bonus, Mr Lyttle received a total salary of £1.7m in the group’s most recent financial year, up from £1.3m a year earlier.
A number of large shareholders have criticised this move and plan to vote against the motions, according to The Times.
Some also criticised plans to change the existing remuneration policy by combining the annual bonus scheme and long-term incentive plan into one plan which features a “blend of time and performance-based awards.”
The maximum bonus for the group’s current financial year would be 500pc of salary for Mr Lyttle, as well as Mr Kamani, Ms Kane and chief financial officer Stephen Morana.
One shareholder described the move as “outrageous,” adding that the company had not consulted its investors prior to publishing its plans.
Mr Lyttle has led Boohoo Group since 2019. Prior to this role, he was chief operating officer for eight years at Primark.
