JD Sports agrees financial truce with ex-CEO Cowgill in deal worth millions

JD Sports on Wednesday said it had agreed a truce with former CEO Peter Cowgill, including a non-compete and consultancy deal that will see him receive £5.5m in addition to his salary package.

Cowgill was unceremoniously dumped from the company he helped build into a multi-national leisure and sportswear chain after shareholders raised concerns about his bonuses and reluctance to split the roles of chairman and chief executive.

JD Sports said that Cowgill had been paid his salary, contractual benefits and will be eligible for any appropriate annual bonus, subject to usual performance conditions, which will be paid on a pro rata basis for the period he remained in full time employment up to May 25.

For the period post that date the company will honour his contractual notice period of 12 months.

Separately, the board and Cowgill reached a deal on two fronts. First, a binding set of new and enhanced restrictive covenants for two years replacing what JD Sports described as “the very limited provisions in Peter's 18 year old contract”.

“These align Peter and the company's commercial interests, prevent him from working for or advising any of the company's competitors, and prevent him from soliciting any of its employees. Peter will receive £3.5m over two years for this valuable restriction,” the company said in a statement.

The second is a £2m consultancy agreement over an expected three years to ensure that chairman Andy Higginson and new CEO Régis Schultz “receive his continuous support and assistance as they transition in their new roles, and more importantly give ongoing access to his unparalleled knowledge and experience in building JD into the successful company that it is today”.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti at Sharecast.com