THE housebuilding entrepreneur Tony Pidgley and three fellow directors are to defy the gloom pervading the sector by getting a £60m share payout.

Pidgley and his colleagues will receive 7% of Berkeley Group, the housebuilder, which has a market value of £766m.

The bonus package comes at a time of deep gloom in the industry. Two of the big names in the sector, Barratt and Taylor Wimpey, are in talks with their banks to renegotiate lending covenants or raise money.

And this week Persimmon and Redrow will underline how challenging the markets have become when they issue gloomy trading statements.

Under the Berkeley scheme Pidgley will be awarded shares worth £31m. His finance director Rob Perrins will get £12m and two other directors, Tony Carey and Greg Fry, will receive shares worth £9m and £6m.

The share bonanza, the biggest ever awarded at a quoted housebuilder, results from an agreement with investors struck nearly four years ago. Pidgley had pledged to return 1,200p per share to each investor and then be awarded 15% of the company.

Berkeley shareholders have already been given 900p but agreed to delay the final payment so that the housebuilder could take advantage of cheap land prices.

As a result, they have agreed to fast-track the top directors’ payout but have cut the bonus to three-quarters of the original deal.

Pidgley and his co-directors have agreed that they can sell only a small proportion of their shares each year, but will get a further £18m when the final 300p per share is distributed.

The share distribution is expected to take place before the annual meeting, which is scheduled for the end of August.

Analysts say the incentive deal Berkeley agreed with investors ensured that it was not forced to become a volume builder. Instead it could focus on creating value by acquiring land without planning permission or improving the consents that were already there.

- The housebuilder Crest Nicholson has appointed a specialist team at accountants Deloitte to advise on a potential financial restructuring ahead of crunch discussions with its lending banks and shareholders. The Deloitte team specialises in working with distressed businesses.

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