Boss of construction giant CRH, which is looking to move its share listing to the US, has made more than £60 million since joining the company a decade ago
The boss of FTSE 100 construction giant CRH, looking to move its share listing to the US, has earned more than £60 million since joining the company a decade ago – and is lining up for another big payout, The Mail on Sunday can report to reveal .
CRH, led by CEO Albert Manifold, dealt a blow to the UK stock market last week by revealing plans to move the main listing of its shares to New York.
The company, which is headquartered in Ireland and owns Tarmac, justified its call by saying that North America now accounts for three quarters of its revenue.
Left: CRH, led by Albert Manifold, is a major supplier to the Queensferry Bridge in Scotland
The news heightened concerns that the UK is losing to foreign rivals. Chip designer Arm is about to list its shares in New York, while oil giant Shell – the largest company on the London Stock Exchange – and Paddy Power owner Flutter are said to have considered similar moves.
A CEO of a FTSE 100 company said he was “very suspicious” of companies moving to the US market, adding: “I think they are driven by the prospect of US-style compensation packages.”
A relatively unknown City figure, Manifold is already one of the highest-paid bosses in a publicly traded company. Last year he earned £12.4 million in salary and bonuses – almost 300 times the average wage of a CRH employee. That brought his total salary since joining CRH in 2013 to £63 million.
He is expected to receive another multi-million pound bonanza after the building materials company – which supplies asphalt, cement and paving – saw turnover rise to £27.3 billion last year with a pre-tax profit of 13 per cent to £4.6 billion. CRH, which has seen several shareholder revolts over boardroom pay, declined to comment.
A source said the UK represented only a very small portion of the group and the closest colleagues were all based in the US. But experts said less scrutiny of executive pay is one reason some companies are looking to the US. A typical US CEO is paid 400 times more than an employee earns on average, while the difference between a FTSE 100 boss and the average UK wage is about 100 times.
Luke Hildyard of the High Pay Center think tank said it was a “depressing reflection of their values and motivation” that executives needed such huge rewards.
He also accused them of avoiding scrutiny and accountability.
“Instead of engaging with stakeholder concerns and the role their companies play in creating painful economic divides in society, boards are trying to walk away from the problem,” he added.