Boohoo ditches £1m exec bonus plan after shareholder backlash

Boohoo has announced that it has decided to withdraw from paying its top executives bonuses worth £1m after it received backlash from shareholders for awarding millions of pounds in bonuses to executives despite widened losses.

It comes as some shareholders criticised Boohoo’s plan to hand co-founders Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane and CEO John Lyttle bonuses of £1m each.

In its latest annual report, the company said the three executives were not eligible for a bonus after financial targets had been missed in the past year. 

However, The Times reported that Boohoo’s remuneration committee would nonetheless grant the bonuses, stating that the outcome was “not an accurate reflection of the excellent work carried out”.

In light of this, the committee agreed to pay bonuses of 49.1% of the maximum to Lyttle, and 67.1% of the maximum to Kamani and Kane.

It comes as Boohoo’s losses widened to £160m in its latest full-year results, as revenues fell amid a challenging market backdrop over the period.

In the year ended 29 February 2024, revenues fell by 17% to £1.46bn, down from £1.77bn the prior year. 

Boohoo said: “The company has engaged with certain shareholders and has decided not to implement the Incentive Plan at this time. The company will consider further engagement with shareholders on this matter in the future. The executive directors have also opted to waive their entire bonus entitlement for the financial year ended 29 February 2024.”