Pub chief toasts bumper pay rise

The chief executive of pubs group JD Wetherspoon has been rewarded for another year of record sales and profits with a 30% rise in his pay and bonus package.

John Hutson saw his total pay and share package rise to £1.1 million after being awarded a £95,000 cash bonus, as well as £109,000 worth of shares under a long-term incentive scheme and a £358,000 share windfall in deferred payments from a plan set up in 2005.

The group’s annual report revealed that on top of a 2.5% rise in annual salary, executive directors also received 16.5% of their pay as a bonus after underlying pre-tax profits leapt 6.3% to a record-breaking £76.9 million in the year to July 28.

Chairman and founder Tim Martin, who owns a 26.5% stake in Wetherspoon, saw his salary remain at £324,000, although his overall package fell slightly as he was paid less for taxable benefits, such as rail travel.

Employees throughout the group shared in the rise in annual profits as Wetherspoon paid bonuses and free shares worth £28.6 million to its workforce of around 26,000 staff during the year to the end of July.

Wetherspoon opened its first pub in north London in 1979 and now runs a chain of nearly 900 pubs.