Big payday for OnTheMarket’s former chief executive

A former chief executive of OnTheMarket is now able to cash in shares worth some £92,000 in the latest part of the portal’s employee share option plan.

The news came in a statement to shareholders from the portal regarding Clive Beattie who was acting chief executive for some months following the sacking of the portal’s first ever chief executive, Ian Springett.

Before and since that period as acting chief executive, Beattie has been serving as chief financial officer of OnTheMarket.

Beattie - who has a reported salary of around £255,000 - also has additional vested share options and existing shares worth some £200,000 and unvested options worth a further £725,000.

These figures regarding shares could rise or fall depending on the share price itself - yesterday it closed at around 106p.

This is not the only high-flying salary and shares package at the top table of OnTheMarket.

Jason Tebb, the chief executive who has been at the portal for 14 months, received share options worth some £530,000 when he joined OTM. 

No figure has ever been made public regarding the pay-off - if there was one - for former chief executive Ian Springett.

Earlier this month OnTheMarket told shareholders that its performance is ahead of expectations and it's on course to make improved profits this year.

In October the portal announced it would "achieve approximately breakeven adjusted operating profit" for the six months ending January 31 this year - and now it says performance is slightly ahead of that forecast.

But a trading statement this month said: "The company's focus on disciplined operational and cost management has continued. When combined with a higher level of development investment in the new website and brand launch that will be capitalised rather than expensed as incurred in the income statement, the group now expects adjusted operating profit to be positive in H2 21/22 and to be at least £2.5m for the full year full year 21/22."