Accounts for Edinburgh-based Miller Group, filed with Companies House, reveal the builder didn’t pay managers an annual bonus last year after plunging to a £170m pre-tax loss.
But chief executive Miller still received an additional £1.2m in dividends due from the previous financial year thanks to his 16% stake in the UK’s biggest privately-held housebuilder.
The accounts also reflect an increased caution in the group. On the status of the company as a going concern, the directors said: “Against the background of a more challenging economic environment, the directors have reviewed the latest annual budget and strategic plan.
“They believe the group has adequate funding resources to continue in operational existence in the foreseeable future. For this reason the accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.”
Miller Group is fully funded through to 2012, putting it in a relatively strong position in a sector that has been hit by a combination of falling sale prices and high levels of debt. Miller has long been one of Scotland’s best paid businessmen, and even secured a pay rise in 2007 when the housing market had already started to fall, taking his pay up 3% from £2.3m in 2006.
But the group has been hit by the downturn.
A dip in profits to £81.2m in 2007 was the first contraction in earnings for 12 years and was promptly followed by the £170m loss in 2008.
Miller Group reported in September its pre-tax loss for the first half of 2009 had widened to £33.8m, compared to £22.2m the year before.
The crash came just as Miller resolved a dispute with dissident shareholders who wanted to cash in their stakes.This was resolved in April 2008 when Bank of Scotland bought a 20% stake, allowing some investors to exit.
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