Victoria rolls out new incentive plan

WORCESTERSHIRE carpet manufacturer and retailer, Victoria, has agreed a new long-term management incentive plan.

The new plan is not open for participation by executive chairman Geoff Wilding nor any other member of the current board, save for chief financial officer Michael Scott.

Mr Scott has been awarded 5,000 B ordinary shares in a new intermediate holding company, in connection with the plan, which has been recommended by the firm’s remuneration committee.  

Between the second and third anniversary of his joining the company, Mr Scott will be able to exchange the B shares into ordinary shares in Victoria of equivalent value. The monetary value of the shares represents approximately 0.61% of the growth in value of the ordinary shares above a share price of £15.

The board, with the exception of Mr Scott, said it had consulted with the company’s nominated adviser, Cantor Fitzgerald Europe, and concluded that the proposed award was fair and reasonable.

Sprue gets the all-clear for full European production

Coventry-based smoke alarm supplier Sprue Aegis has received clearance to begin full scale manufacturing of its new European product variants.

The company will be eager for some good news after seeing its shares plummet late last month when it issued a profits warning and said it had had to take out extra liabilities due to a fault being found in the batteries of its devices which meant they would not last as long as previously thought.

In its latest update, the firm said it had been notified that final key testing had been completed and formally certified, allowing it to ramp up to full production.

The company’s shares have recovered slightly since the announcement last month but investors still appear cautious.

Carillion on target to meet expectations

Wolverhampton-based facilities management and construction group, Carillion has said trading for the year remains in line with expectations.

In an AGM statement it said it expected its performance in 2016 to be led by improved revenue and margin in its support services business, following implementation of a number of deals won in 2015.

“New orders secured in 2016 have increased revenue visibility for the current year to 94%, up from 84% at December 31, 2015,” it said.

“Therefore, with our strong, high-quality order book and substantial pipeline of contract opportunities, we continue to expect the group to make further progress in 2016.  We also continue to expect profit in 2016 to revert to a greater second-half weighting, with our targets for revenue, margins and cash flow unchanged.”