// 3000 staff at AO World could share a £240m bonus pot as part of a bumper reward scheme
// The scheme would pay out bonuses to staff for share price rises above £5.23 a share
// Execs could land up to a mammoth £20m each in bonuses under the plans
Around 3000 staff at AO World could share a £240 million bonus pot as part of a bumper reward scheme unveiled by the online electricals retailer.
AO World said its new scheme – called the value creation plan – would pay out bonuses to staff for share price rises above £5.23 a share – equivalent to a £2.5 billion stock market value and marking a rise of more than 200 per cent on current stock prices.
Executive bosses could land up to a mammoth £20 million each in bonuses under the proposed plans if shares hit £9.41.
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However, founder and chief executive John Roberts pledged to donate any rewards he receives to a youth charity to help disadvantaged young people in the UK.
The scheme will be measured over a five to seven-year period, with employees sharing out £140 million if shares hit £9.41 by 2025 and £240 million if they go as high as £12.55.
This would mean a near eight-fold increase over the next five years.
“The decision to create an opportunity for every AO employee to receive a meaningful reward for the value they create is one that I’m proud to tell my mum about,” Roberts said.
“It is a vote of confidence in our people and the future we’re building.”
Despite this, the potential payouts for top bosses could raise eyebrows among big investors, with lucrative share-based incentive schemes coming under heavy fire in recent years.
AO World’s annual report also separately showed Roberts’s total pay soared by 44 per cent in the year to March 31 as he took home £732,924 in pay and bonuses.
His annual salary increased by £50,000 to £450,000, while he was also awarded just over £215,000 in bonuses under a long-term incentive scheme.
It came after the retailer saw revenue jump by 16 per cent to £1.05 billion in the year to March 31, while it swung to a pre-tax profit of £1.5 million for the period.
Roberts reclaimed the top job in February last year after a two-year hiatus.
AO World was valued at £1.5 billion when it floated on the stock market in 2014, with shares worth £2.85 on its initial public offering.
However, a string of profit warnings have since seen its shares suffer steep falls, with the stock closing on Monday at £1.65.
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