Innocent staff share £19m bonus pot after Coca-Cola takeover
HUNDREDS of Innocent Staff have been awarded bonuses worth a combined £19m after the smoothie maker was snapped up by Coca-Cola earlier this year.
Around 250 employees shared in the payout – equivalent to around £76,000 each – from Innocent’s share-based payment schemes, according to recent accounts filed at Companies House.
Coca-Cola took control of Innocent in February after the group’s founders Richard Reed, Adam Balon and John Wright decided to sell their remaining 32 per cent stake for £100m.
The Cambridge graduates, who first sold their smoothies 15 years ago at a music festival, stepped back from the day-to-day running of the business in May but remain on the executive committee.
Innocent’s full-year results filed under its parent company Fresh Trading show that turnover jumped 27 per cent to a record £206m last year compared with £167m the previous year.
Profit before tax increased to £27.5m compared with a £10m loss in 2011. Innocent said one in three households bought one of their products last year.