Backlash over Centrica bonuses

BRITISH Gas owner Centrica is risking a row by handing out £5m bonus shares to top executives in March, after hiking household gas bills 5.3% in January and a total of 10% since last April.

Chief executive Roy Gardner will collect £1.1m of shares under a long-term incentive plan. He gets a further £1m worth in October. He also has £2m paper gains on share options, taking his total potential gains to £4m.

Three other directors - Mike Alexander, Mark Clare and Roger Wood - each get shares worth over £1m.

The shares were awarded in 1997. Centrica said: 'They are a reward for long-term performance, turning the company around and building its international operations.' Gardner's options - 1.33m at 81p - date back even further.

Centrica said the bonuses are 'not connected' to recent price rises, which are 'an issue for the whole industry' after a surge in wholesale gas costs.

Over a year, rivals have raised prices by between

5.5% and 15%. Gardner has led Centrica since it demerged from British Gas. The shares have more than trebled from 65p to 236p, valuing the group at £9.5bn.