The Law Gazette reports..
The chief executive of listed firm Ince has received a one-off payment of £500,000, despite a ‘difficult’ year of trading, it emerged today.
According to Ince Group plc’s annual report, Adrian Biles was paid £916,000 in the year ended 31 March 2021, up from £521,000 in 2020 and £322,000 in 2019. £500,000 of his pay packet was a ‘short-term incentive linked directly to share price performance’.
In total, the group’s directors received £1.27m in remuneration in 2021, up from £1m in 2020.
Biles said the firm had made ‘steady progress’ over the past financial year, reporting a small increase in global revenue from £96.3m to £100.2. However, operating profit is down 59% at £3.1m, while diluted earnings per share fell by 96% to 0.5p.
In the report Ince attributed the decline in profits to exceptional items of £6m relating to the scaling back of its London office and settlements with former partners. Operating profit before non-underlying items stands at £9.2m – the same as last year – while adjusted diluted earnings per share stand at 8.1p, 45% lower than 2020.
The group said it cut 47 roles during the year, with an associated annual cost saving of £1.2m. It also received £1.5m through the UK government’s job retention scheme.
