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Lush reportedly paid its managers £5m in bonuses last year despite taking £5.1m in government support and posting a 90% fall in profits, The Guardian has reported.
It reported that these bonuses were paid on top of salaries in 2022 to directors, including the co-founder, Mark Constantine, and his wife, Mo, who are both shareholders, as well as six staff at Lush Cosmetics, the brand’s main operating company.
The company is currently embroiled in a row with its former boss, Andrew Gerrie, over his attempts to sell his shares in Lush.
Gerrie, who was CEO at Lush for 20 years before leaving in 2015, said his stake in Lush is now held through Silverwood Brands, an investment firm that he co-owns.
Had Lush decided to distribute its profits via a dividend rather than a bonus, it would have had to pay a share of them to Gerrie or Silverwood. However, as Gerrie is not a staff member he did not receive a share of the 2022 bonus paid by Lush Cosmetics. Gerrie first said he would like to sell his shares several years ago.
Lush has fought Gerrie’s attempts to sell and according to The Guardian, it has since emerged that the company launched a new action in the high court in an attempt to prove that the transfer of the shares to Silverwood Brands did not comply with Lush’s company rules.
In a statement to Retail Sector, Lush said: “The bonus referred to was an exceptional item for employees – Directors and other management – who were responsible for the successful acquisition of the Lush North America business. The work to resolve issues with the Lush NA partner had been ongoing for some years and was an extremely important transaction for the Group to secure the long term future of the business.”
