Majestic boss to hand over bonus to staff

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 27 July, 2016

Majestic chief executive Rowan Gormley has asked for the bonus offered to him as part of a long-term incentive plan to be shared out to staff - meaning employees could net £14,000 each if targets are met.

Gormley declined to take the shares offered to him by shareholders, saying Majestic was "doing the right thing for our people" by sharing out a total windfall of £7m between its 493 staff members.

Rowan's bonus will contribute to this.

"We're serious about aligning our people and our shareholders' interests. We are focused on investing in our people," he said, adding: "We are focused on investing in our people to reward the delivery of sustainable growth in the whole group."

Everyone from the shop floor through to management are set to receive a sum.

Gormley took over as chief executive last year when Majestic paid £70m for his firm Naked Wines.

The Naked Wines arm of the company, which the South African entrepreneur set up in 2008, also came to the rescue of vintner Benjamin Laroche after bad weather ruined the Chablis crop.

The firm raised £60,000 from its customers in less than 24 hours to help him fund his next harvest.

Earlier this month, Majestic's chairman announced that the group would not be paying a shareholder dividend this financial year in order to balance the books following the acquisition of Naked Wines.

Chairman Phil Wrigley said that the group was still in the early stages of its three-year transformation plan, adding that shareholder interests were "best served" by investing in the business to counteract associated costs in the acquisition of Naked Wines.

In June, Majestic's financial year 2016 results showed that while reported sales increased 41.3% to £402.1m, adjusted profits before taxes declined 30.3% to £15.0m for the same period as the company invests in a three-year transformational plan.

The slide in adjusted profits were attributed to the costs related to the acquisition the Naked Wine business and investments made in the course of the retail business.

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