Early insights from FTSE 250 Directors’ Remuneration Report publications

Policy changes

Sharp rise in new remuneration policies

Just under half of these companies are putting their remuneration policies to vote this AGM season (47%, up from 35% in 2025); almost all are in-line with the normal 3-year cycle of reviews.

Meaningful number of structural redesigns

Almost a quarter of companies tabling new policies are proposing changes to variable pay structure, compared to only 10% in the FTSE 100. Six companies are proposing to introduce hybrid plans, offering a combination of restricted (RS) and performance shares (PS); two are proposing to switch from either PS or single variable plans to RSPs; and two are proposing stretch/multiplier elements to their PSPs.

Generally modest increases to variable pay

Over 50% of companies introducing new policies are proposing to increase LTI opportunities, and over 40% of these also propose increasing bonus. These increases have not yet had an impact on median levels of variable pay opportunity, which remain at 150% and 200% of salary for bonus and LTI (for PSP only companies) respectively.

Evolving bonus deferral and ownership expectations

Over 55% of companies are reducing required bonus deferral once SOGs are met. Almost one third of FTSE 250 companies now apply tapered deferral (up from 17% last year), typically reducing deferral to 50% of the standard level or removing it entirely.

Almost half of companies increasing LTI opportunities are also proposing to lift SOG requirements for one or more EDs; the median requirement for CEOs is aligned to median PSP levels at 2x salary.

Implementation changes

We observe the following compared to last year:

No change to median salary increases
Slightly fewer companies raising bonus opportunities
Slightly more companies increasing LTI opportunities
No material change in median bonus payouts
Lower median PSP payouts
More applications of discretion to bonus outcomes, but fewer to LTIP vesting outcomes
Continued growth in the proportion of companies increasing Chair and/or basic NED fees

In addition to the median Chair and basic NED fee movements outlined in the report, just under 15% of companies have made significant (>20%) increases to other NED fees, such as SID premia or committee chair/member fees.

Download our report to explore the full findings and gain a comprehensive review of remuneration outcomes from 2025 annual report and accounts thus far.