- Five successive chief executives shared a total of £15.2m
- This figure will rise to £22.6m when the acquisition is completed.
- Critics said the public would be “outraged” by the huge sums of money given the poor level of service.
Today’s Mail reveals the huge salaries Royal Mail executives received in the years leading up to its proposed takeover by Daniel Kretinsky.
Five successive chief executives shared £15.2m between the privatization of the distribution group in 2013 and the end of its last financial year in March 2024, according to an analysis by this newspaper.
This figure will rise to £22.6m when the deal to sell International Distribution Services (IDS), owner of Royal Mail, to the billionaire known as the Czech Sphinx for £3.6bn is completed.
Critics said the public would be “outraged” by the huge sums given the poor level of service they have received.
The revelations come after documents this week showed that bankers, lawyers and other advisers working on the deal will share fees of £146m.
Extraordinary payment: Moya Greene and Martin Seidenberg are two of the executives who have benefited
The IDS board, headed by chairman Keith Williams, shocked the City and Westminster last month when it backed a £3.6bn bid from Kretinsky that will see Royal Mail fall into foreign hands for the first time since it was created by Henry VIII in 1516.
The proposed takeover – which still requires regulatory approval – comes just over a decade after Royal Mail went public in a major privatization deal carried out by the coalition government. However, privatization soon turned sour, as the company was hit by a collapse in the letter delivery service and damaging strikes.
Royal Mail has blamed its financial performance on delays in reforming the Universal Service Obligation, which requires nationwide deliveries six days a week at a fixed price and costs the company up to £675m a year. But unions say the crisis has been caused by “poor management” at the top, leaving the company vulnerable to a foreign takeover.
Running Royal Mail has been lucrative. The Mail can reveal that IDS chief executive Martin Seidenberg received £1.5m last year and could get a further £7.4m when the takeover is completed.
That includes up to £5.6m in potential share awards and the value of his stake in the company, plus his salary and bonuses for this financial year. His predecessor, Simon Thompson, who was boss for just two years, earned a total of £1.9m. He followed in the footsteps of Rico Back, who also resigned after a two-year tenure marred by an ongoing battle with unions. He was paid almost £1.2m plus £450,000 in lieu of work during his notice, but received no bonus for leaving.
Stuart Simpson, who did the job on an interim basis after Back left and before Thompson took over, was paid £462,000. Canadian Moya Greene was appointed in 2010. Her tenure included privatising the postal service in 2013, after which she earned £8.7m plus a payout of almost £1m when she resigned.
Andrew Speke, of the High Pay Center think tank, said: “Given the service the public have received from Royal Mail, most people would be outraged to learn that these huge sums are being paid to failed bosses.”
How the bigwigs raked in £15m in the run-up to Czech Sphinx takeover (and there’s more in the post!)