Travis Perkins defends handover bonus

BUILDERS' merchant Travis Perkins today defended the £100,000 bonus paid to former chief executive Frank McKay for handing over the reins to successor Geoff Cooper.

Cooper, former deputy chief executive of Alliance UniChem, took over a week ago, but said the handover would continue until McKay retires in October. 'It's certainly been a great benefit to me and it's in the interests of the company to have a smooth handover,' said Cooper.

The payment should also be looked at in the light of the company's strong performance in recent years, he said. That continued in 2004, with a 17% jump in taxable profits to £190.4m, on sales up 9% to £1.83bn. The dividend total is raised 25% to 30.5p.

The results do not include any contribution from DIY group Wickes, bought in a £950m deal finalised last month. Cooper said he was confident about long-term prospects for Wickes, although trading has been hit in recent weeks by the poor weather and consumer spending slowdown.

Synergies from the deal are already coming through and he is confident savings targets of £17.5m this year and £35m in 2006 will be achieved.