Companies with Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) have typically been overlooked by Private Equity firms due to their perceived 100% employee-owned structure. However, in recent years, companies have been using more partial ESOPs. Could this be the turn of the tide for PE firms to consider these companies alongside the benefits that an ESOP provides?…

February 24, 2023 Read more >

Business quarters all have their own cycle.  But for those with December year ends in particular, this relatively quiet period (from a management perspective) at the end of February often comes as a bit of a surprise. So, rather than wasting the opportunity that this temporary lull can bring, here are three recommendations for some…

February 24, 2023 Read more >

In November 2022, the Financial Reporting Council (“FRC”) published its annual review of Corporate Governance Code (“the Code”) disclosures.  As previously, it selected a range of 100 companies across the FTSE 350 and Small Cap markets. Whilst much of the findings will only be interesting to fully listed businesses, there are still some important points…

January 26, 2023 Read more >

For the past 27 years MM&K has been running the Private Equity and Venture Capital Compensation Survey. In the past couple of years we have seen unprecedented demand for junior investment professionals and a commensurately significant increase in their remuneration – a factor also noted by a number of our contacts. 75% of firms across…

January 26, 2023 Read more >

Listed companies are required to put their directors’ remuneration policy to a shareholder resolution at least every three years. If a company wishes to make any changes to its remuneration policy, it must put the new policy to shareholders for approval at an annual general meeting (AGM). Several listed companies are likely to be seeking…

January 26, 2023 Read more >

MM&K (the UK partner firm in the GECN group) has published its 2023 research on how the world’s largest firms use ESG (environmental, social, governance) metrics in their executive incentive plans. Download your free copy here. We researched the world’s top firms for how they use ESG metrics when paying their CEOs. A category among…

January 26, 2023 Read more >

Following the UK Government’s announcement last September that the cap on bankers’ bonuses was to be removed, it is important to consider the knock-on effect this is likely to have on wider businesses and their attitude towards remuneration. The bonus cap in question currently prevents employees of UK banks, building societies and certain investment firms…

January 26, 2023 Read more >

On 22 December 2022, HMRC published its tax avoidance bulletin Spotlight 61 – ‘Disguised remuneration: remuneration trusts used to reduce profits and disguise income’ which follows the warning given by HMRC in Spotlight 51 and Spotlight 56 about remuneration trust tax avoidance schemes and explained why these do not work. HMRC have noticed that certain…

January 26, 2023 Read more >

Looking back on a year of turmoil 2022 was supposed to be the year in which we started to get back to normal, or to embrace the “new” normal. In January, COVID was a declining force, inflation was 5.5%, investors anticipated a brighter outlook for the UK economy and the FTSE100 index closed above 7,500…

December 21, 2022 Read more >

On 8th November this year, a (cross party supported) Private Members’ Bill was introduced into Parliament with the aim of updating two of the current share ownership schemes (the share incentive plan, known as SIP, and the save-as-you-earn system, known as SAYE or Sharesave) —and proposes a third scheme. As is the nature of these…

November 22, 2022 Read more >

Corporate governance can seem like a daunting task for any organization to undertake. Some organizations do it because they fall within specific codes, others consider doing it, but the thought and the process overwhelms them to a point of choosing to do the bare minimum, or nothing at all. It is important for companies to…

November 22, 2022 Read more >

Last month, we restarted our series of remuneration dinners for Board Chairs, CEOs, Remuneration Committee Chairs and committee members. The format is that about twenty diners participate in what is usually a spirited discussion on a topical remuneration-related theme. This occasion was no exception. The theme for the evening was provided by the Government’s proposed…

November 22, 2022 Read more >