Fever-Tree boss in high spirits amid £4m payday

The founder of Fever-Tree will take home a bumper pay packet after the posh mixer maker posted another record year.

Chief executive Tim Warrillow will receive £3.98 million for 2018, up from £844,000 the previous year.

The increase is down to the introduction of a Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP), which was first approved in 2016.

The award is based 75% on turnover and 25% on underlying earnings.

In the period since it was granted, turnover growth was 301% and earnings growth was 332%, exceeding the maximum target.

Due to the rapid rise in Fever-Tree’s share price, Mr Warrillow will therefore receive more than £3 million under the scheme in addition to his basic salary and bonus.

Chief financial officer Andrew Branchflower, meanwhile, will take home £1.92 million following the vesting of the awards at the end of May.

It follows a year in which Fever-Tree posted a pre-tax profit rise of 34% to £75.6 million in 2018, while revenue jumped 40% to £237.4 million.

The company said it was boosted by last summer’s heatwave, as well as the World Cup and the marriage of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle.

More gin was sold during the three months of the summer in 2018 than the summers of 2014 and 2015 combined, the firm added, with the category now worth £1.9 billion in the UK.

Mr Warrillow founded Fever-Tree in 2003 with Charles Rolls. Last year the two founders sold a combined three million shares, raising a total of £103.5 million.