Flutter Entertainment plc
For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Mar 26, 2024.
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FY2023 · Filed Mar 26, 2024
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Item 11. Executive Compensation
| Item 11. | Executive Compensation |
|---|
As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted by Item 402(a)(i) of SEC Regulation S-K to respond to this Item 11 by providing the information required by Items 6.B. and 6.E.2 of Form 20-F. Accordingly, we are not required to disclose executive compensation according to the requirements of Regulation S-K that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. For purposes of this disclosure, our Senior Management are considered to be the same individuals as our Executive Officers.
For fiscal 2023, the total compensation paid to our Non-Executive Directors, Executive Directors and Senior Management as a group was £28.5 million. The total amounts set aside or accrued by us to provide pension, retirement or similar benefits for this group was £588,577.
Remuneration of Non-Executive Directors
The remuneration of our Non-Executive Directors is set by the Board with account taken of the time and responsibility involved in each role, including, where applicable, the Chairship of Board Committees. Non-Executive Director fees were last reviewed in 2022, with the fee schedule below being effective from September 1, 2022.
The fees for the Non-Executive Directors and the Board Chair as of January 1, 2023 are set out in the table below:
| (€000) | ||
| Board Chair’s Fee | 630 | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Executive Director Base Fee | 145 | |
| Additional Fees: | ||
| Senior Independent Director | 30 | |
| Chair of Audit Committee | 30 | |
| Chair of Compensation and Human Resources Committee(1) | 30 | |
| Chair of Risk Committee | 30 | |
| Chair of Nominating and Governance Committee(2) | 20 | |
| Chair of Workforce Engagement Committee(3) | 30 | |
| (1) | The Remuneration Committee was reconstituted as the Compensation and Human Recourses Committee, effective November 9, 2023. |
| (2) | The Nomination Committee was reconstituted as the Nominating and Governance Committee, effective November 9, 2023. |
| (3) | The Workforce Engagement Committee was stood down on November 9, 2023. |
The following table sets out the aggregate remuneration received by each Non-Executive Director for fiscal 2023:
| Chair and Non-Executive Directors | Board Committee Membership as at December 31, 2023 | Fees(£000) |
|---|---|---|
| John Bryant(1), (2) | Nominating and Governance (Chair), Compensation and Human Resources, Board Chair | 226 |
| Nancy Cruickshank(3) | Risk and Sustainability, Compensation and Human Resources | 130 |
| Nancy Dubuc(4) | Audit, Nominating and Governance | 126 |
| Richard Flint(5) | Risk and Sustainability | 127 |
| Alfred F. Hurley, Jr | Nominating and Governance, Compensation and Human Resources (Chair) | 152 |
| Holly Keller Koeppel(6) | Audit (Chair), Nominating and Governance, Risk and Sustainability | 178 |
| David Lazzarato | Audit, Risk and Sustainability (Chair) | 152 |
| Carolan Lennon(7) | Audit, Nominating and Governance | 126 |
| Atif Rafiq(8) | Compensation and Human Resources, Risk and Sustainability | 126 |
| Former Chair and Non-Executive Directors | ||
| Gary McGann(2), (9) | 365 | |
| Zillah Byng-Thorne(10) | 13 | |
| Mary Turner(11) | 114 | |
| (1) | John Bryant joined the Board and the Compensation and Human Resources Committee on April 27, 2023, and assumed the role of Board Chair from September 1, 2023. |
| (2) | No fees were paid to the Board Chair for chairing the Nominating and Governance Committee. |
| (3) | Nancy Cruickshank joined the Compensation and Human Resources Committee and stepped down from the Nominating and Governance Committee on April 28, 2023. She was appointed chair of the Workforce Engagement Committee on October 1, 2023. The Workforce Engagement Committee was stood down on November 9, 2023. Figure for Ms. Cruickshank includes a taxable benefit of a gift to the value of £723 (figure includes tax paid by the Company). |
| (4) | Nancy Dubuc joined the Audit Committee on April 28, 2023 and stepped down from the Compensation and Human Resources Committee on November 9, 2023. |
| (5) | Richard Flint was a member of the Workforce Engagement Committee until it was stood down on November 9, 2023. Figure for Mr. Flint includes a taxable benefit of a gift to the value of £723 (figure includes tax paid by the Company). |
| (6) | Holly Keller Koeppel was appointed Senior Independent Director on January 1, 2023. |
| (7) | Carolan Lennon was a member of the Workforce Engagement Committee until it was stood down on November 9, 2023. |
| (8) | Atif Rafiq joined the Compensation and Human Resources Committee on November 9, 2023. He was a member of the Workforce Engagement Committee until it was stood down on November 9, 2023. |
| (9) | Gary McGann stepped down from the Board on August 31, 2023. |
| (10) | Zillah Byng-Thorne stepped down from the Board on January 31, 2023. |
| (11) | Mary Turner stepped down from the Board on September 30, 2023. |
Remuneration of Executive Directors
The aggregate amount of remuneration paid to our Executive Directors in fiscal 2023 was approximately £10.65 million. This amount comprises salary, annual bonus, pension, private medical insurance and other benefits, long-term incentive awards and value of joinerbuy-out awards for Executive Directors. The table below reflects the amount of compensation paid and benefits in kind granted, to the Executive Directors, during fiscal 2023.
| Salary(£000)(1) | Benefits(£000)(2) | Pension(£000)(3) | AnnualBonus(£000) | Long-TermIncentives(£000)(5) | Other(£000)(4) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Directors/Senior Management | ||||||
| Peter Jackson | 1,214 | 6 | 109 | 3,206 | — | — |
| Jonathan Hill (up to April 28, 2023) | 234 | 6 | 21 | 575 | — | — |
| Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson (from March 20, 2023) | 590 | 1 | 53 | 1,448 | — | 3,187 |
| (1) | Salary: represents the total amount earned for the relevant financial year. Peter Jackson’s salary at the start of the year was £1,170,000. This was increased to £1,222,650 on March 1, 2023. Jonathan Hill’s salary at the start of the year was £715,000. This was increased to £747,175 on March 1, 2023. Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson’s salary upon starting his role as a director on March 20, 2023 was £750,000. Salaries for Jonathan Hill and Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson are pro-rated for period in year served as a director. |
| (2) | Cost of benefits primarily relating to private medical insurance. |
| (3) | The pension for all Executive Directors is the value of the cash paid to them in lieu of contributions. None of the Executive Directors have a prospective entitlement to a defined benefit pension. |
| (4) | Other includes the grant value of Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson’s share awards made in 2023 to compensate him for incentives forfeited on his cessation of employment with his previous employer. |
| (5) | No vesting of 2021 LTIP award with a performance period ending December 31, 2023. |
Annual Bonuses
The Executive Directors are generally eligible to receive an annual bonus based on an assessment of financial and strategic measures during the relevant financial year. The Compensation and Human Resources Committee reviews the annual bonus plan every year to ensure that the opportunity, performance measures, targets and weightings are appropriate and in line with the business strategy at the time. Performance outturns are determined by the Compensation and Human Resources Committee on an annual basis by reference to achievement against certain Group financial or strategic measures (although the financial element will always account for at least 50% of the bonus in any year). Half of any bonus earned is deferred into shares under the Flutter Entertainment plc 2015 Deferred Share Incentive Plan (“DSIP”), vesting 50% on the third anniversary of the grant and 50% on the fourth anniversary. A revenue underpin of 2% per annum growth applies to the vesting of the deferred shares made to date. Malus and clawback provisions apply to the annual bonus and DSIP awards both prior to vesting and for a period of two years post-vesting. Dividends (or equivalent) will accrue on DSIP awards over the vesting period. In addition, we have adopted a Dodd-Frank compliant incentive compensation clawback policy consistent with the NYSE listing standards.
The maximum annual bonus opportunity for Executive Directors in fiscal 2023 was 285% and 265% of salary for the CEO and CFO, respectively. Target bonus wastwo-thirds of the relevant maximum. The 2023 annual bonus was based on Group Revenue, Group Adjusted EBIT, US Adjusted EBITDA and safer gambling measures across all divisions. The bonus outcome reflects the impact of the legalization of sports betting in the state of Kentucky, which was not known at the time the targets were set. This is consistent with the commitment made in the 2022 Remuneration Report and results in an increase in the performance outcome of 6.4% to 92.7% of max.
The table below shows the outcomes for each element on an actual outcome and adjusted basis, relative to the stretching targets set at the start of the year. Targets and outturn for the financial measures are presented under IFRS accounting.
| Performance targets(1) · Actualperformance · Bonusoutcomepreadjustment(% of max) · Bonusoutcomepreadjustment(% of target) · Performanceafteradjustment (4) · Bonusoutcomeafteradjustment(% of max) · Bonusoutcomeafteradjustment(% of target) · Bonus outcome | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighting · Threshold · Target · Maximum · PeterJackson · JonathanHill(2) · PaulEdgecliffe-Johnson(2) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Group Revenue | 30% | £ | 8,734m | £9,292m | £ | 9,850m | £ | 9,514m | 24% | 36% | £9,519m | 24.1% | 36.1% | ||||||
| Group Adjusted EBIT | 25% | £ | 940m | £1,011m | £ | 1,062m | £ | 1,021m | 18.2% | 27.3% | £1,059m | 24.5% | 36.7% | ||||||
| US Adjusted EBITDA | 25% | FanDuelprofitable | FanDuelprofit of$10m | US profit of $10m | US profit of $107m | 25% | 37.5% | US profit of$151m | 25% | 37.5% | |||||||||
| Safer gambling:(3) | 20 | %: | Various divisional targets | 19.1% | 28.7% | 19.1% | 28.7% | ||||||||||||
| FanDuel | 5% | 8% | 10% | 12% | 17.3% | 5% | 7.5% | 5% | 7.5% | ||||||||||
| UKI (SG Tools) | 1.65% | 50% | 50.5% | 51% | 51.8% | 1.65% | 2.5% | 1.65% | 2.5% | ||||||||||
| UKI (TRI) | 3.35% | (4)% | (8)% | (12)% | (39)% | 3.35% | 5% | 3.35% | 5% | ||||||||||
| Sportsbet | 5% | 15.2% | 19% | 22.8% | 20.8% | 4.1% | 6.2% | 4.1% | 6.2% | ||||||||||
| International | 5% | 57.8% | 59.1% | 60.4% | 64.7% | 5% | 7.5% | 5% | 7.5% | ||||||||||
| Total | 86.3% | 129.5% | 92.7% | 139% | £3,206,312 | £575,332 | £1,448,066 | ||||||||||||
| (1) | Awards pay out on a straight-line basis between the points shown. |
| (2) | Bonus values for Jonathan Hill and Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson pro-rated for period in year served as a director. For Jonathan Hill, this is the period between January 1, 2023 and April 27, 2023. For Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, this is between March 20, 2023 and December 31, 2023. |
| (3) | Details of safer gambling measures and outcomes for each business outlined below. |
| (4) | Financial outcomes include impact of legalization of sports betting in state of Kentucky. |
In line with market practice and as with previous years, the bonus targets have been adjusted for exchange rate movements over the period ensuring that bonus is measured on a constant currency basis. Prior to approving the annual bonus outcomes, the Committee discussed whether or not the proposed outcome was considered to be fair and reasonable in the context of the Company’s overall business performance over the year, as well as the current social and economic environment. Following discussion, the Committee considered the outturn to be fair and reflective of Company performance, it was also satisfied that it was appropriate and fair within the current wider socio-economic environment.
In line with the Remuneration Policy, half of any bonus earned is deferred into shares under the DSIP, vesting 50% on the third anniversary of the grant and 50% on the fourth anniversary.
Safer Gambling Measure Outcomes
For the 2023 bonus, we were once again able to capture all divisions in our safer gambling measure. Safer gambling measures were considered on a divisional basis, taking into account the different regulatory and societal environments they operate in and the varying levels of maturity on their progress on safer gambling. This approach allows us to set robust targets which are meaningful, linked to divisional strategy and help to drive real change. Details of each divisional measure are shown below:
| • | FanDuel: Percentage of customers using at least one safer gambling tool. This maximum target for this measure was achieved in full. |
| • | UKI: 67% of UKI safer gambling measure is based on Transactional Risk Indicator Score, or TRI, which measured the percentage of revenues from customers who self-exclude (either directly with a Flutter brand or via GAMSTOP) in the year as a proportion of total revenue for that year (target is a reduction year on year on a like for-like basis). 33% is based on percentage of customers using at least one safer gambling tool. The maximum target for both measures were achieved in full. |
| • | Sportsbet: Percentage of net revenue from customers with a deposit limit. The outcome for this measure was above target but below the maximum. |
| • | International: Percentage of customers using at least one safer gambling tool. This maximum target for this measure was achieved in full. |
Vesting of 2021 Award Under the Flutter Entertainment plc 2015 Long Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”)
The 2021 LTIP award was assessed against relative TSR performance, measured against the FTSE 100 (excluding housebuilders, real estate investment trusts and natural resources companies). The Company’s TSR performance during the performance period was below the threshold target of the median of the peer group and as such, the 2021 LTIP award did not vest. This performance has largely been impacted by the start of the TSR performance period which included a period of historically high share price performance. The tables below set out a summary of performance relative to the 2021 LTIP award targets and the outturn for each executive director.
| Targets · Outcome | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance measure | Threshold25% of award vests | Maximum100% of award vests | Actualperformance | % of maximumachieved | % of award eligiblefor vesting |
| Relative TSR(1) | Growth in linewith median 14.1% | Growth in line withupper quartile 49.0% | (3.8)% | 0% | 0% |
| Total vesting (% of max) | 0% | ||||
| (1) | TSR compared with the FTSE 100 (excluding housebuilders, real estate investment trusts and natural resources companies). |
| Executive Director | Award type | Date of grant | Number ofshares awarded | % of totalaward vesting | Number ofshares vesting | Value at vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Jackson | Nil-cost options | March 18, 2021 | 9,969 | 0% | 0 | £0 |
| Jonathan Hill | Nil-cost options | March 18, 2021 | 5,337 | 0% | 0 | £0 |
Incentive Awards
On March 7, 2023, awards were granted to the Executive Directors under the DSIP, and on April 28, 2023, awards were granted to the Executive Directors under the new Consolidated LTIP (as defined below) plan. Details of these awards are set out in the following table: Under the Consolidated LTIP, an award comprising four years’ worth of grants being granted with the performance period for each tranche being staggered to cover a three-year period. The award level was equivalent to an annual award of 400% of salary for the CEO and 300% for the CFO. Maximum vesting for Consolidated LTIP awards is 100% of the granted award level.
| Name | Award | Type ofInterestin Shares | FaceValue(%) | FaceValue(£)(1) | Numberof Shares | Vesting atThreshold | End ofPerformancePeriod(2) | VestingDate(3) | ExpirationDate(4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Directors | |||||||||
| Peter Jackson | Consolidated LTIP | Nil-costoptions | 1600% of salary | £19,562,334 | 122,789 | 12.5% | 25% each in December 31, 2025 December 31, 2026 December 31, 2027 December 31, 2028 | 25% each in April 28, 2026(4) April 28, 2027(4) April 28, 2028(4) April 28, 2029(4) | April 28, 2033 |
| DSIP | Nil-costoptions | 50% of bonus | £554,734 | 4,178 | n/a | n/a | 50%: March 7, 2026 50%: March 7, 2027 | March 7, 2033 | |
| Jonathan Hill | DSIP | Nil-costoptions | 50% of bonus | £318,793 | 2,401 | n/a | n/a | 50%: March 7, 2026 50%: March 7, 2027 | March 7, 2033 |
| Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson | ConsolidatedLTIP | Nil-costoptions | 1200% of salary | £8,999,958 | 56,491 | 12.5% | 25% each in December 31, 2025 December 31, 2026 December 31, 2027 December 31, 2028 | 25% each in April 28, 2026(4) April 28, 2027(4) April 28, 2028(4) April 28, 2029(4) | April 28, 2033 |
| Buy-out award | Nil-costoptions | n/a | £3,186,907 | 26,387 | n/a | n/a | 6,910 shares on 10 March 2024 5,055 shares on 28 February 2025 9,818 shares on 10 March 2025 4,604 shares on 10 March 2026 | March 20, 2033 | |
| (1) | Based on three-day average share price prior to the date of grant, which was £132.78 for the DSIP, £159.32 for the consolidated LTIP and £137.22 for tranche of Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson’s buy-out award vesting on March 10, 2026. The remainder of Mr. Edgecliffe-Johnson’s buy-out award is based on a three-day average share price between November 7, 2022 and November 9, 2022 of £117.30. |
| (2) | Performance periods of all four tranches of the Consolidated LTIP are shown, with respective performance periods starting three years prior to the end of each performance period. |
| (3) | The DSIP is subject to a revenue underpin over the vesting period that requires revenue growth of at least 2% per annum over the deferral period, as well as continued employment. |
| (4) | All Consolidated LTIP awards are subject to a holding period until April 28, 2029 (the sixth anniversary of the grant date of April 28, 2023). |
Service Agreements
Our policy is for service agreements to contain the following terms:
| • | Agreements are terminable on 12 months’ notice given by either party. |
| • | Agreements contain a provision entitling the employer to terminate their employment by payment of a cash sum in lieu of notice equal to the total salary, contractual benefits and pension contributions that would have been payable during the notice period. |
| • | The payment in lieu of notice can be paid, at the employer’s discretion, as a lump sum or in monthly installments over the notice period. There is a mechanism to reduce the payment in lieu of notice if they commence alternative employment while any installments remain payable from which they receive an annual salary of at least £50,000. |
| • | Executive Directors may also be entitled to a pro-rata bonus for the year in which termination occurs at the discretion of the Compensation and Human Resources Committee. All of the share option and incentive plans that are operated by the Group contain provisions relating to termination of employment, and any share awards held by an Executive Director on termination will be governed by the rules of the relevant plan. |
| • | Executive Directors are subject to a confidentiality undertaking without limitation in time and to non-competition, non-solicitation and non-hiring restrictive covenants for a period of 12 months after the termination of their employment. |
Peter Jackson’s and Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson’s individual service agreements are currently in line with the above policy.
Group Pensions
The Group operates a variety of pension schemes in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States and internationally. During fiscal 2023, the Group paid an aggregate amount of approximately £588,577 in employer contributions for the benefit of Executive Directors and Senior Management to the Group’s pension schemes.
Employee Share Schemes
We maintain the following share schemes for employees (and, where the specific rules permit, non-executive directors and/ornon-employee contractors): the Betfair Long Term Incentive Plan and Deferred Share Incentive Plan; the Flutter Entertainment plc Sharesave Scheme; the Flutter Entertainment plc 2015 Long Term Incentive Plan; the Flutter Entertainment plc 2023 Long Term Incentive Plan; the Flutter Entertainment plc 2015 Medium Term Incentive Plan, the Flutter Entertainment plc 2015 Deferred Share Incentive Plan; the Flutter Entertainment plc 2016 Restricted Share Plan; the Flutter Entertainment plc 2022 Supplementary Restricted Share Plan; The Stars Group Equity Plans; the FanDuel Group Value Creation Plan; and the TSE Holdings Ltd FanDuel Group Value Creation Option Plan. In the event of our transition to a primary U.S. listing, we also anticipate adopting the Flutter Entertainment plc 2024 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan. The aggregate number of new issue or treasury shares which may be the subject of award commitments under the employee share schemes in any rolling 10 year period may not (when adjusted for share issuance and cancellations) exceed 10% (5% in the case of discretionary share schemes) of our issued ordinary share capital.
The Betfair Long Term Incentive Plan and Deferred Share Incentive Plan
The following share plans were acquired on the merger of Paddy Power with Betfair in February 2016 and were originally introduced in the Betfair Group to incentivize and reward for the successful delivery of the short-term and long-term business strategy:
| • | Betfair Long Term Incentive Plan, which consists of nil-cost share options; and |
| • | Betfair Deferred Share Incentive Plan, which consists of cash and nil-cost share options. |
The schemes have awards in the form of cash andnil-cost share options. The level of award granted in each of the schemes was based on a mixture of the individual performance of the employee and Group-wide performance over the term of the award which was between one and three years.
Prior to the Paddy Power-Betfair merger, Paddy Power and Betfair agreed that outstanding unvested awards granted under these schemes would not vest on completion but would be replaced by awards over an equivalent number of our shares (calculated by reference to the exchange ratio) which would have the same normal vesting dates as the original awards but be subject to certain absolute vesting levels.
No award remains unvested. The outstanding options under these schemes are exercisable up to 2025. The weighted average exercise price for share options exercised during fiscal 2023 was €0.09 and at a weighted average share price at the date of exercise of £157.11. The total number of shares exercisable at December 31, 2023, was 6,557.
The Stars Group Equity Plans
Following the combination with TSG, the Group acquired a number of schemes under TSG’s 2015 Equity Incentive Plan dated June 22, 2015 (as amended and restated on May 10, 2018, the “TSG 2015 Equity Incentive Plan”). The plan includes restricted share units, deferred share units, performance share units and stock options. The weighted average share price at the date of exercise under the TSG 2015 Equity Incentive Plan during fiscal 2023 was £132.37. The total number of shares exercisable under the TSG 2015 Equity Incentive Plan at December 31, 2023, was 29,665.
Flutter Entertainment plc Sharesave Scheme
During fiscal 2023, 301,450 options were granted under the Flutter Entertainment plc Sharesave Scheme, atax-favored plan structured to comply with the requirements of the relevant Irish tax laws. These Save As You Earn (“SAYE”) options must ordinarily be exercised within six months of completing the relevant savings period. In line with market practice, the exercise of these options is not subject to any performance conditions.
All employees (including Executive Directors) may be invited to apply for options to acquire shares. The purchase price for each ordinary share in respect of which an option is granted shall not be less than 75% of the closing price of the shares on the applicable stock exchange on the dealing day last preceding the date of grant of the option or its nominal value (and not less than 80% in the case of the United Kingdom and Isle of Man). The aggregate maximum monthly contribution payable by an employee in connection with all SAYE-related schemes is €500/£500 (or local equivalent). As of fiscal 2023, the weighted average share price at the date of exercise was £134.62, and 119,762 shares were exercisable.
Flutter Entertainment plc 2015 Long Term Incentive Plan, Flutter Entertainment plc 2015 Medium Term Incentive Plan and Flutter Entertainment plc 2015 Deferred Share Incentive Plan
The following share plans have been put in place to incentivize and reward for the successful delivery of the short, medium and long-term business strategy:
| • | The LTIP, which consists of restricted share awards, nil-cost options and conditional share awards; |
| • | The Flutter Entertainment plc 2015 Medium Term Incentive Plan, which consists of restricted share awards, nil-cost options and conditional share awards; and |
| • | The DSIP, which consists of restricted share awards, nil-cost options and conditional share awards where part of a bonus awarded is required by the Compensation and Human Resources Committee to be deferred into a share award. |
The level of award granted in each of the schemes is based on a mixture of the individual performance of the employee and the Group-wide performance over the term of the award, which is between one and three years.
The restricted share, nil-cost option or conditional share award portion of the DSIP award will vest over the second and third year of the plan (fourth and fifth year in some cases). The cash element of a bonus awarded that is not required to be deferred into a share award under the DSIP is paid and expensed in year one. The cash element represents between half andtwo-thirds of the total bonus awarded. There is no option given to elect to have this cash element satisfied in shares.
The weighted average exercise price for share options exercised during fiscal 2023 was €0.09 and at a weighted average share price at the date of exercise of £148.64. The value of each award was calculated at the grant date and expensed over a period of up to three years in which the awards vest. The total number of shares exercisable at December 31, 2023, was 168,399.
Flutter Entertainment plc 2016 Restricted Share Plan
During fiscal 2023, 1,070,226 nil-cost options were granted under the Flutter Entertainment plc 2016 Restricted Share Plan. The weighted average exercise price for share options exercised during fiscal 2023 was €0.09 and at a weighted average share price at the date of exercise of £138.08. Awards granted under the plan in some cases vest over three and four years and in other cases vest over one and two years.
Flutter Entertainment plc 2022 Supplementary Restricted Share Plan
During fiscal 2023, 9,058 nil-cost options (or conditional awards) were granted under the Flutter Entertainment plc 2022 Supplementary Restricted Share Plan. The awards granted under the plan vest over one to four years.
FanDuel Group Value Creation Plan and TSE Holdings Ltd FanDuel Group Value Creation Option Plan
In 2019, the Group introduced a plan for FanDuel employees that allowed them to share in the future value created within FanDuel. Employees were awarded an allocation of units that represents a share in value created. The value of these units was to be determined by the value of the business in July 2021 and July 2023 compared to benchmark. Employees had the option to exercise 50% of these units at July 2021 at the prevailing value, or roll some or all of them to July 2023 at the prevailing value at that date. The Group has the option of settling this plan via the issuance of Flutter Entertainment plc shares or cash.
Our acquisition of an additional 37.2% of FanDuel shares on December 30, 2020 implied a 100% value of FanDuel of $11.2 billion, which was significantly in excess of theout-performance growth cap. Due to this, it was decided to fix the value of the plan in both July 2021 and July 2023 to provide certainty to employees. As a result of the above, shares with a value of $238 million were delivered to FanDuel employees in fiscal 2021 with shares with a value of approximately $176 million delivered to employees in 2023.
Flutter Entertainment plc 2023 Long Term Incentive Plan
The Flutter Entertainment plc 2023 Long Term Incentive Plan (the “2023 Consolidated LTIP”), adopted at the company’s 2023 AGM, enables us to incentivize our executive directors through the grant of share awards andnil-cost options. The 2023 Consolidated LTIP awards consist of a single award ofnil-cost options designed to be the equivalent of four years’ worth of LTIP awards. As such, 2023 Consolidated LTIP awards are split into four tranches, with vesting dependent on the achievement of the relevant performance conditions for each tranche. The awards are structured such that one tranche will vest on the third, fourth, fifth and sixth anniversaries of the initial grant of the award. The award levels of 1,600% of salary and 1,200% of salary for the CEO and CFO, respectively, represent an annualized grant value of 400% and 300% per year, respectively.
The performance period and vesting date for each of the four tranches of the 2023 Consolidated LTIP awards are shown in the table below. The whole of each award is subject to a holding period until April 28, 2029, the sixth anniversary of the grant of the award.
| Tranche | Grant Date | Vesting Date | Performance period |
| 1 | April 28, 2023 | April 28, 2026 | January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2025 |
| 2(1) | April 28, 2023 | April 28, 2027 | January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2026 |
| 3(1) | April 28, 2023 | April 28, 2028 | January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2027 |
| 4(1) | April 28, 2023 | April 28, 2029 | January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2028 |
| (1) | Performance conditions to be confirmed, as such effective grant date under ASC 718 to be determined once performance conditions established. |
On April 28, 2023, the 2023 Consolidated LTIP award (consisting of all four tranches) totaling: 122,789 nil-cost options was granted to Peter Jackson; and 56,491 nil-cost options was granted to Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson.
The performance condition and targets for the first tranche of the award of 30,697 nil-cost options granted to Peter Jackson and 14,122 nil-cost options to Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson are:
| Below Threshold (Nil Vesting) | Threshold (12.5% Vesting)(1) | Maximum (100% Vesting)(1) | |
| Relative Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”)(2) | Below mediangrowth | Growth in linewith median | Growth in linewith upperquartile |
|---|
| (1) | Awards vest on a straight-line basis between the points shown. |
| (2) | TSR relative to the FTSE 100 (excluding real estate investment trusts and closed end investment trusts). |
The performance conditions associated with remaining three tranches totaling 92,092 nil-cost options granted to Peter Jackson and three tranches totaling 42,369 nil-cost options granted to Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson had not been determined as of December 31, 2023. As a result, no grant date has been established under ASC 718. The performance conditions for these tranches will be determined and a grant date established for one additional tranche a year on a rolling three-year basis from 2024 to 2026.
Other Plans
Separate to the above plans, the Group introduced a value creation award within the FanDuel business with the value of the award determined by the growth in the value of the FanDuel business from September 2021 to December 2026. The Group has the option of settling this plan via the issuance of Flutter Entertainment plc shares or cash. No future awards are expected in respect of this plan.
In March 2023, the Group modified the value creation award to provide a minimum payment to the participants. The setting of a minimum payout resulted in a change in the classification of the award from equity to liability as the awards do not expose the holder to gains and losses in the fair value of the Group in the same way as outright ownership.
In 2021, the Group introduced a plan for Flutter International employees to allow them to share in the future growth of their business. A portion of the awards vested in 2023, with the remainder vesting through 2025.
Flutter Entertainment plc 2024 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan
In the event of our transition to a primary U.S. listing, our Board anticipates that it will adopt the Flutter Entertainment plc 2024 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan (the “2024 Incentive Plan”) as a vehicle to continue granting equity to our, and our affiliates’, current and prospective employees, together with our officers, non-employee directors and consultants.
This plan is intended to provide a means through which to grant equity throughout our business through a more customary and streamlined U.S.-style incentive plan in the event of a primary listing on a U.S. stock exchange. Following the adoption of the 2024 Incentive Plan, we do not expect to make further equity grants under our other equity-based incentive plans, besides the Flutter Entertainment plc Sharesave Scheme (being ourall-employee savings-related option plan).
The 2024 Incentive Plan is expected to have an initial share pool of 1,770,000 shares (which represents approximately 1% of our current issued and outstanding shares), with such reserve amount to be reduced by the number of shares (if any) covered by awards granted under our legacy equity-based incentive plans (including the Sharesave Scheme) after the date the 2024 Incentive Plan is adopted. We anticipate that the 2024 Incentive Plan will be submitted for shareholder approval at our 2025 annual general meeting.
The Paddy Power Betfair plc Employee Benefit Trust
We have established an employee benefit trust (the “EBT”) to assist with our obligations to satisfy historical and future share awards under certain of the employee share plans. The trustee of the EBT has waived its right to receive dividends on any shares held by the EBT. As of the end of fiscal 2023, the EBT did not hold any ordinary shares.
During fiscal 2023, shares were purchased by the EBT to ensure that it continues to have sufficient shares to satisfy share awards. The EBT purchased 1,106,417 ordinary shares at an average price of £157.36 in fiscal 2023. We provided funds to the trustee of the EBT to enable it to make the purchases. The number of shares purchased represented less than 1% of our issued share capital as of fiscal 2023.
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.