UK FTSE 100 housebuilder bosses lined up to pocket £126m in 2018

Bosses of the top FTSE 100 housebuilders are in line for an epic £126m payout next year as part of their long-term share rewards.

Jeff Fairburn, chief executive of Persimmon, is in line for the biggest payout. If the firm performs as analysts expect this year, Fairburn could receive £116m from share grants.

Read more: What will happen to house prices in 2018? Here’s what the experts think

The chief executives of Berkeley Group, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Homes are set to receive £5.5m, £2.1m and £1.7m respectively, according to City A.M. analysis.

Persimmon has said its share plan was devised to drive the performance of the business, and is a scheme that has been extended to around 150 executives.

Director general of the Institute of Directors, Stephen Martin, said there was no suggestion that Persimmon had done anything wrong, given the pay scheme had been approved by investors.

“However, it’s another example of the large pay-outs that can come as a result of long-term incentive plans (Ltip) set up in different conditions,” he said.

“Ltips have been the source of much of the objection to executive remuneration recently as they can be pretty opaque, producing bumper payments in some years in ways that weren’t necessarily predicted when they were approved.”

Read more: Housebuilder share prices are on the up thanks to Theresa May

Stefan Stern, director of the High Pay Centre, described the schemes as “luck-related pay”.

Stern added: “We think they produce massive payouts which are more to do with luck and general market movements than the individual contribution of one chief executive.”

The success of the housebuilders could not be directly attributed to the performance of chief executives, Stern said, making the schemes flawed.