Majestic Wine store
Credit: Majestic Wine
(Image credit: Majestic Wine)

The chief executive of Majestic Wine has waived a potential share bonus in favour of adding it to an incentive scheme that could reach £7m for the retailer's store managers.

  • Majestic CEO promises to give bonus rewards to senior staff
  • ‘Share based payments’ related to Naked Wines deal damaged Majestic profits in last financial year

Majestic Wine chief executive Rowan Gormley has launched a charm offensive by offering up any bonus he receives as part of the retailer’s new long-term incentive plan for senior staff.

If Gormley achieves his full bonus, and Majestic meets targets to transform its business in the next three years, store managers and other management level staff could share up to £7m via the scheme.

On current numbers, 493 staff, including store managers, would be eligible for £14,000 each.

The bonus would be paid through shares in the company priced at 7.5 pence each, Majestic said.

‘We are committed to delivering shareholder value by doing the right thing for our people, customers and suppliers,’ Gormley said.

Gormley was previously head of Naked Wines until the business was acquired by Majestic in 2015.

In its recent full-year results, Majestic saw net profits slide from £13.5m to £2.3m.

One-off costs related to the Naked Wines acquisition were a significant factor in the drop, including what Majestic described as £7.3m of ‘share based payment charges’.

Updated 27/07/2016: This story was updated on 27 July at 19:23 to make clear that Gormley’s personal bonus is not set to reach £7m. That is the total incentive on offer to management staff.

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Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.