Tui Travel bosses reportedly picked up pay packages worth a total of £29 million last year.
Chief executive Peter Long was the biggest earner. His pay, benefits, share awards and other bonuses totalled £13.3 million in the year to September, according to the company’s annual report, which was published on Friday.
That compared with the £10.4 million package that he earned in the previous year, the Sunday Times reported.
Deputy chief executive Johan Lundgren earned pay and share awards totalling £8.4 million, up from £5.3 million a year earlier. Finance director Will Waggott earned a total package worth £6 million.
The pay awards are the last before the completion of Tui Travel’s £5 billion merger with its 54% German shareholder Tui AG.
The three most senior figures at Tui Travel, formed out of the merger of First Choice and Tui AG’s tourism arm, also cashed in lucrative long-term share awards last month, according to stock market filings. Long received – and immediately sold – stock worth nearly £15 million.
The awards had been conditional on meeting performance targets, including delivering value to investors. The share price has broadly trebled over the past three years. Long’s fellow executives also benefited from multimillion-pound share awards.
Tui said that its remuneration policy places “substantial emphasis” on variable pay to better align directors’ interests with those of shareholders.
“Executive directors only receive significant remuneration for exceptional performance,” it said.
Long been at the helm of the holiday group and its predecessor businesses since 1999, making him one of the longest-serving bosses in the FTSE 100.
He has become joint chief executive of the enlarged business, which employs 77,000 staff in 130 countries, along with Friedrich Joussen, who has been boss of the German travel company for almost two years.
Long is due to become chairman of the combined group next year.