Foxtons faces a backlash when he gives the boss a £ 1 million bonus

The Foxtons head is facing mounting pressure to return his £ 1 million bonus and return government support used during the pandemic.

Nic Budden received a bonus of £ 389,300 and £ 569,000 in shares for 2020, which means his total wage package on top of his salary increased to £ 1.6m from £ 1.25m last year.

This is despite the fact that Foxtons tapped taxpayers for £ 4.4m vacation pay and £ 2.5m for relieving business rates during the pandemic.

Bonus series: Foxton boss Nic Budden (pictured) received a bonus of £ 389,300 and £ 569,000 of shares for 2020

The company put a £ 22m cap on shareholders in April last year to prop up its balance sheet.

And they weren’t shy about injecting the cash to buy Douglas and Gordon for £ 14.25 million and plowing £ 3 million into Boomin, the real estate portal set up by Purplebricks founder Michael Bruce.

As a result, advisors to Foxtons shareholders, Glass Lewis and ISS, have urged investors to oppose the compensation report at this month’s general meeting.

ISS said, ‘There is an essential separation between bonus results and company performance.

Nic Budden received a bonus of £ 389,300 and £ 569,000 in shares for 2020, which means his total wage package on top of his salary increased to £ 1.6m from £ 1.25m last year. Pictured: archive image

As a result, advisors to Foxtons shareholders, Glass Lewis and ISS, have urged investors to oppose the compensation report at this month’s general meeting. Pictured: archive image

“Some investors may question the appropriateness of granting executive directors bonuses before repaying government support received.”

Glass Lewis would like Budden’s bonus to be reduced overall. It said, “Given the experience of shareholders and the wider workforce, there’s no reason the company couldn’t reduce the bonus to zero.”

Competitors in the industry, including Winkworth, have paid back vacation pay, as have construction companies like Barratt and Taylor Wimpey.

The vacation program cost the government £ 58 billion, while the relief on corporate rates will be worth £ 16 billion by the end of the program.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak extended the vacation program until the end of September during his budget announcement on March 3rd.

He said the system, which pays 80 percent of workers’ wages for the hours they cannot work, would help the British during the “challenging months”.

However, employers are expected to contribute 10 percent of their employees’ working time from July onwards. That number will rise to 20 percent in August and September.

But despite the pressure, Foxtons stuck with the bonus payment.

It said, “We believe it is right to reward hard work and results in a year when business has been good in very difficult circumstances.

“We were very grateful for the government support, which we took as briefly as possible, but as intended – to keep people at work during an extended shutdown.”

Last year Foxtons reported a 12 percent drop in sales to £ 93.5m, but pre-tax loss decreased from £ 8.8m to £ 1.4m.

Yesterday, the company saw sales jump 24 percent in the first three months of 2021 as sales were booming.

The real estate market has returned to normal, triggered by Rishi Sunak’s extension of stamp duty leave until the end of June.

The Group’s cash position at the end of March was £ 22.3 million.

The company’s share price has fallen sharply – from 94p before the pandemic to 65p now.

The final series of vacations comes after it was revealed that Wetherspoons founder and chairman Tim Martin pocketed millions of pounds from stock sales while his pub chain was demanding government money.

Mr. Martin, who still owns more than a fifth of Wetherspoons, sold £ 50 million worth of shares in January.

Government data shows the company took out more than £ 25 million in vacation pay in the same month.

The outspoken businessman is now faced with the requirement to return the vacation money.

Tory MP Sir Bob Neill said, “A number of reputable companies have returned vacation pay when they managed to weather the Covid storm better than expected and have been welcomed for it.”

Wetherspoons founder and chairman Tim Martin poured millions of pounds off stock sales while his pub chain was demanding vacation pay

“Perhaps Mr. Martin could consider following this example.”

Labor MP Dame Margaret Hodge said it was “quite right that we put in place a job-saving program,” but added, “He made £ 50 million from a stock sale and then £ 25 million from the vacation program.” Is that a thank you? ”

Wetherspoons, with 875 pubs, grossed more than £ 97 million in the six months to the end of January. During this time, sales fell by more than half.

A Wetherspoons spokesman said, “We are making a large net contribution to the Treasury Department. Even last fiscal year, when the pubs were long closed by the government, Wetherspoons paid £ 436.7 million in taxes despite a loss of £ 89.6 million. “

Steve Murrells, co-op chief executive officer (pictured) said he believes the move to hold £ 66 million secured by business rate easing is still “in line with our ethics”.