Ex-Greene King chief exec pockets £850,000 after quitting
Former Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand received a pay out of £850,000 after he quit the pub chain.
The FTSE 250 brewery said the payment – equivalent to about a year’s remuneration – was made after Anand agreed to “various post-termination covenants” that were not part of his original contract.
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Greene King said the terms of Anand’s contract, signed in 2004, were inadequate for a “smooth succession process”.
Under the new agreement Anand was banned from joining a list of 18 named Greene King competitors for a year after his departure and from poaching members of staff.
“It was vital for Greene King to secure such protections,” the company said in its annual report published earlier this week.
“Rooney is one of the most experienced and successful senior executives within the pub industry, and as he is not retiring on stepping down from the company, he could have chosen to remain active as an executive within our industry.”
The report added that the board was “very conscious of the current sentiment concerning termination payments” but said the potential risk to the company could not be left unaddressed.
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Anand stepped down in November 2018 and was replaced by former Merlin Entertainments director Nick Mackenzie.
Greene King’s share price dropped almost three per cent to 565.68p today after the stock went ex-dividend before recovering to 568p this afternoon.
Main image credit: Getty