Patisserie Holdings – LTIP revelations reflective of broader malaise affecting UK small caps
The latest news from the beleaguered cake and coffee group, that they failed to appropriately disclose option awards, is indicative of a disease that pervades UK small caps – a casual attitude to share based payment rewards for senior managers. It needs to stop!
The failure to properly disclose in its statutory financial statements, the grant of options relating to 2015 and 2016, is seemingly yet another indication of slack corporate governance at Patisserie Holdings. We are also staggered this wasn’t picked up by the auditors as part of their routine work. However, this is a mere glimpse of the numerous issues that pervade many UK small caps, where remuneration awards granted to senior management are often totally out of proportion with the real performance of the business. Share based rewards are often awarded with wild abandon by remuneration committees which all have the…