Frasers to lower bonus goal as boss misses out on £100m payout

Frasers Group CEO Michael Murray is set to miss out on the required targets to achieve a £100m bonus, but the company is set to lower the targets which could see him land the bonus by 2030, according to reports from The Times.

The bonus is dependent on the company achieving a pre-tax profit of at least £500m and a £15 share price for 30 consecutive dealing days before October for Murray to net the payout.

Murray, who succeeded his father-in-law Mike Ashley as Frasers boss, has waived his salary for three years in an attempt to help secure the bonus.

While the group has met the earnings goal, delivering underlying pre-tax profits of £560.2 million for the year to April 27, it is unlikely to meet the share target by October, with stock trading at about £6.80.

Ahead of its AGM, the company has unveiled plans for a new five-year bonus scheme which would see a lowered share price target, from £15 to £12. Frasers told The Times that £12 was still above the highest share price reached for Frasers in the past five years, which was £9.49.

The company said: “The committee views this as an appropriate share price target for all executive share scheme awards (including those for the chief executive) in the current macroeconomic and political environment which is challenging for all businesses in the UK and also internationally.”

It comes after the group announced that Sir Jon Thompson, the former head of the Financial Reporting Council, will join as chairman from September.

The company is also close to appointing Andy Lyon as non-executive director to the board and expects to make a further announcement in due course regarding a second, well-advanced candidate, for a further non-executive director position.

Those roles would succeed David Daly, Ger Wright and Helen Wright, who are not seeking re-election at the forthcoming AGM.