GLI bosses received over £750k in bonuses despite 2018 loss
GLI FINANCE executives were collectively paid £784,250 in bonuses last year, despite the company sliding into losses.
The 2018 annual report released by the Aim-listed alternative finance group on Wednesday showed that chief executive Andrew Whelan received £370,800 in bonuses, which included £123,600 in company shares, and a discretionary cash bonus of £247,000. Whelan’s fixed annual salary was also £247,000.
Chief operating officer Aaron le Cornu was given a £100,000 sign-on bonus, plus £46,350 in discretionary cash bonuses over the course of the year. His salary was fixed at £150,000.
Chief financial officer Emma Stubbs earned a total of £92,700 in cash bonuses and share holdings, on top of her £154,500 salary.
Managing director Dan Walker was given a £25,000 sign-on bonus, plus shares and cash bonuses to the value of £150,000. His salary was also fixed at £150,000 per year.
The annual report said that the bonus scheme reflects “shareholders’ approved terms for a revised long-term incentive scheme”, as agreed at the 2017 annual shareholder meeting. The new terms included an option for executive members to buy company shares at favourable rates of 25p, 30p and 35p. The additional cash bonuses were paid “for duties performed during the year ended 31 December 2018.”
GLI reported operating losses of £2.3m in 2018 – down from a profit of £101,000 the previous year.
Earlier this year, GLI announced that the “disappointing” performance of its Fintech Ventures portfolio had contributed to the firm’s 2018 losses. The Fintech Ventures division – which invests in fintech lending platforms – reported a writedown of almost £20m last year, due to challenges in securing additional growth capital.
GLI Finance recently announced plans to close its peer-to-peer supply chain finance platform, Sancus Finance. The platform had suffered a £1.1m loss from an insolvent borrower.
GLI Finance declined to comment.