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WH Smith is to claw back almost £1.5 million in overpaid bonuses from former owners after accounting irregularities at the retail firm’s US branch.
The travel retail specialist last week confirmed it was being investigated by the UK financial watchdog after it overstated the profits of its North American business by more than £50 million due to issues with its audit process.
Carl Cowling resigned as chief executive of WH Smith last month following a report Deloitte Accounting problems confirmed.
The company said in its annual report on Wednesday that the annual bonus payments of Mr Cowling and former finance chief Robert Moorhead have been recalculated for 2023 and 2024.
It has also recalculated the payment of long-term share bonuses from the 2021 plan for executives.
WH Smith said it overpaid Mr Cowling £516,000 cash and 60,182 deferred shares worth £374,933, based on the company’s latest closing price.
It paid Mr Moorhead more than £372,000 in cash and shares worth £272,493.
It said it would now seek the “refund” of both these payments from the former owners.
WH Smith also confirmed that it did not pay Mr Cowling an annual or long-term bonus for the last financial year.
As a result, his total salary deal until August 2025 dropped to £724,000 from £2.71 million for the same period a year earlier.
The retailer told investors last week that it had launched a corrective plan, aimed at strengthening its governance and controls, ensuring processes are aligned across the group and implementing cultural change involving training and monitoring.
Its board is currently searching for a permanent group chief executive.
After selling its high street chain of around 480 stores, WH Smith is now focusing solely on its 1,300 stores in global travel locations including airports and train stations. hobbycraft Owner Modella Capital in June.
As part of the deal, the WH Smith name is disappearing from British high streets and being replaced by the brand TGJones.
The behemoth business recorded a pre-tax profit of £108 million for the year to the end of August, not including one-off costs.