FDs feel the pinch as bonuses fall

The pay packets of FTSE100 finance directors has dropped as they failed to hit performance targets, according to the latest salary survey by Accountancy Age’s sister publication Financial Director.

Although FTSE100 FD salaries rose by 3% compared to a year earlier, bonuses fell sharply to drag their average total pay down by 4%, the first time it has fallen in the survey’s 12-year history. Their average total pay was £1m.

But it wasn’t all bad news for the top finance executives. Guy Whittaker, FD of RBS, was the second-highest paid FTSE100 FD at £2.19m, despite the bank being propped up by state cash.

FTSE250 FDs averaged £593,875 in total salary, up 13.9% from the last survey.

Man Group’s Kevin Hayes pipped Whittaker to top FTSE100 pay with £2.2m, however he was beaten to the overall top slot by Glynn Burger of FTSE250 group Investec. He raked in £2.7m, of which £2.4m came in bonuses.

The youngest FD in the survey is John Trotman of the FTSE250-listed Big Yellow Group, at just 30 years old. The average age for the FTSE100 is 50, while the FTSE250 comes in at 49.

There are just eight women FDs in the FTSE350.

Some newly-appointed FDs will receive remuneration packages structured towards restructuring and turnaround targets, rather than traditional targets such as a share price, said Suzzane Wood, who heads the financial officers practice at Heidrick & Struggles.