Persimmon boss to donate "portion" of bonus to charity

The chief executive of UK home builder Persimmon announced on Wednesday that he will donate a portion of his controversial £100m bonus to charity.

Jeff Fairburn was awarded the bonus under the company’s 2012 long-term incentive plan, which sought to reward executives based on cash returns to shareholders and would have seen him receive share options worth over £100m, but has now announced that he intends to set up a charitable trust.

Fairburn said: "I recognise and profoundly regret that Persimmon’s strong performance over the last few years is being eclipsed by the controversy surrounding the 2012 LTIP (long-term incentive plan) award."

The plan was set out to drive performance but was not capped, effectively allowing for a potentially unlimited payout.

In a statement on Wednesday, Fairburn said he had made plans to use an undisclosed portion of the money to support charities.

"Once it became apparent that our outperformance would lead to a very significant award for me," he said, adding that he had taken the "old-fashioned approach" of believing that he would be able to do so privately.

The controversy follows the stepping down of Persimmon’s chairman and the head of its remuneration committee in December in recognition of the fact that "the 2012 LTIP could have included a cap" according to a statement from Persimmon.

The 2012 LTIP was perhaps particularly controversial due to the fact that Persimmon's profits have been increased by the government’s 'help to buy' programme.

As of 1450 GMT, Persimmon’s shares were down 0.08% at 2,416.00p.