Smokescreen FTSE 100 remuneration committees are striving to find acceptable remuneration structures to compete with their US counterparts. Articles abound of increased FTSE 100 CEO pay and new, hybrid executive incentives. But for the vast majority of UK listed companies, this is a smokescreen. That said, all companies must be competitive and this applies also…

April 29, 2026 Read more >

The 2026 MMK Pulse Survey has now concluded. Thank you to all participating firms. Participants will receive a complimentary Pulse Report. The report will provide a concise view of emerging compensation trends. Early findings suggest remuneration momentum remains strong. Salaries continue to rise across private capital markets. Bonus outcomes also appear resilient. Firms continue to…

April 28, 2026 Read more >

We see  different problems festering in portfolio companies (PortCos) such as a lack of a leadership pipeline, high executive turnover, reluctance or failure to address cultural issues until they become chronic. Reactive approaches are then employed: Leadership is assessed after the deal closes. The CEO is replaced in year one with little pre-planning. Culture is…

April 27, 2026 Read more >

Board expectations are increasing, yet core governance practices remain inconsistent. MM&K’s Life in the Boardroom 2025/26 survey highlights where boards continue to face pressure, drawing on insights from 435 board positions to show how boards operate today. The findings are based on first‑hand experience from Chairs and Non‑Executive Directors (NEDs), rather than company staff or…

April 24, 2026 Read more >

MM&K supported the ESOP Centre’s 9th Share Plan Symposium, contributing to a panel on the evolving executive remuneration landscape, where Tamsin Howells and Stuart James explored a deceptively simple question: what comes first – culture or reward? There is a familiar pattern in organisations undergoing transformation. Significant investment is made in engagement, communication, and capability-building to shift behaviour.…

April 22, 2026 Read more >

An annual return needs to be submitted by all companies which have an active employee share plan registered with HMRC. This includes tax-advantaged share plans such as EMI, CSOP, SAYE and SIP as well as any non-tax advantaged plans or arrangements such as unapproved options, conditional share awards (or restricted stock units), growth share plans…

April 15, 2026 Read more >

2026 is set be a fairly quiet year for new UK corporate governance regulation. That said, the regulatory merry-go-round keeps turning; boards must continue to keep pace with the demands of regulation adopted in earlier years. The FCA has been consulting on proposed new UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS) – see CP 26/5 ‘Aligning listed…

March 26, 2026 Read more >

MM&K is pleased to announce the launch of its 2026 Private Equity, Venture Capital and Infrastructure Pulse Survey. MM&K has, for over three decades, supported a broad range of private equity, venture capital, infrastructure and real assets managers (both independent and captive) in designing and benchmarking their compensation frameworks. Our work spans base salaries, partner…

March 25, 2026 Read more >

Equity does more than distribute financial upside in an organisation – it quietly redistributes power. Formal power tends to be defined by role: title, reporting lines, decision rights. But in many organisations, particularly partnerships and private-equity backed firms, equity introduces another layer of influence. Ownership creates a different kind of voice – one that is often heard…

March 25, 2026 Read more >

In our experience, the biggest barriers to scale are usually internal. External events can affect operations, but over time growth more often stalls because of factors within management’s control. Priorities blur. Decision-making slows. Bureaucracy creeps in. Talent processes lag behind business needs. Incentives stop reinforcing the right behaviours. The organisation becomes more complex, but not…

March 24, 2026 Read more >

A recent newspaper report highlighted that there is a worry in the “Big 4” accountancy firms that there will not be enough people coming through their “talent pipeline”. For many businesses, the thought will strike them that “if one of the deepest resourced firms in the country is having issues, what could that mean for…

March 23, 2026 Read more >

Life in the Boardroom is a unique biennial survey that gathers insights directly from Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) and Board Chairs, rather than from company staff or annual reports. Key areas covered include directors’ fees and time commitments, as well as their views on a range of topical board issues. Since 1990, this survey has provided…

March 20, 2026 Read more >