OnTheMarket Looking to Hold Onto Leadership Team with 'Golden Handcuffs' Deal

British #3 property portal OnTheMarket has given its four most senior employees stock options which combined are worth around £1 million.

The four employees receiving stock options include the company's three non-independent Board Members as well as its Product and Technology Director.

The shares are due to vest in three years and once vested are subject to another two-year holding period. According to a statement issued on the company's investor relations site, the options are subject to performance conditions based on the total shareholder return achieved by the Company relative to the FTSE AIM 100 Index in the three years to the vesting date.

OnTheMarket is clearly keen to tie down a leadership team that in many people's eyes has started to turn around the fortunes of the majority agent-owned portal. The firm recently reported its first profitable full year as it successfully migrated many agents off free listing packages.

The company was famously involved in a high profile legal battle against one of its customers regarding the infamous “one other portal rule” in 2018 and in March 2020 controversial CEO Ian Springett was let go.  Springett was eventually replaced by ex-agent Jason Tebb who has been forthright in his communication with agents and has won over many doubters with his 'townhall' style face to face meetings with agents.

OnTheMarket's share price has been languishing at around £0.95 - 1 for some time, well short of the £1.63 it went public at back in 2018. So there is clearly plenty of hard work left for the fortunate executives to get stuck into before they can enjoy their pay-day.

With thanks to The Negotiator which first broke the story.