LSL offers directors £1.64m incentive

LSL Property Services has awarded nine of its senior directors shares potentially worth more than £1.6m if they meet ambitious growth targets in the next three years.

The directors will be able to capitalise on the share options as long as the share price for the group has hit at least £3.20 per share and they have met set performance targets by 31 March 2014.

Staff awarded the shares include group chief executive officer Simon Embley, who has received 203,665 shares, worth potentially £651,728 if the share price reaches the £3.20 mark.

LSL shares currently trade at £2.50.

The two performance targets employees have to achieve are: the growth in total shareholder return must be higher than the growth in its benchmark of the FTSE 250 and earnings per share must grow by more than 10% per annum.

The joint share ownership plan (JSOP) allows a business to award share options that can be exercised once the performance targets are met, entitling the directors to the growth in the value of the shares.

Embley said that acquisitions could form part of LSL's growth, but it has set ambitious growth targets for its estate agency and financial services division, and surveying business, where it will specifically aim to expand the B2C side.

He said: "We do buy firms fairly frequently, but we are also very keen that when we do buy, it is a value business. I don't believe we need to buy in order to grow, but if the right business comes around, we will buy it with the cash that we generate and money raised from our drawdown agreement with our bank."

Embley highlighted that in order to meet the earnings per share target, LSL's share price in three years would very likely have to be higher than £3.20 per share.

LSL revealed at the beginning of March that its pre-tax profits for 2010 rose 52% on 2009 to £25.8m and it was looking to make further acquisitions this year.

Other directors awarded shares include Steve Cooke, group finance director, who has been awarded 89,613 shares, potentially worth £286,762 at £3.20 per share, while both David Newnes, executive director of estate agency, and Alison Traversoni executive director of surveying, have received 57,026 shares potentially worth £182, 483.

In addition, Gareth Samples, managing director of Your Move, has received 48,879 shares (worth £156,413), while both Jon Round, group financial services director, and David Brown, commercial director, have been awarded 18,329 shares (worth £58,653).

Meanwhile, Nigel Favas, managing director of Reeds Rains, has received 10,692 shares (worth £34,214), and Jon Cooke, managing director of estate agency LSLI, has been awarded 8,146 shares (potentially worth £26,067).