28 August 2015
FIRSTGROUP
PLC
FIRSTGROUP APPOINTS MATTHEW GREGORY AS CHIEF FINANCIAL
OFFICER
FirstGroup plc ("FirstGroup" or "the Group"), the leading
transport operator in the UK and North
America, announces that Matthew
Gregory will be appointed to the Board as Chief Financial
Officer with effect from 1 December
2015.
Matthew joins from FTSE 250 constituent Essentra plc, a leading
global provider of essential components and solutions. He joined
Essentra in 2003 and was appointed Group Finance Director in 2012.
Prior to that he performed a number of senior roles including
Corporate Development Director with responsibility for group
strategy, planning and business development, and Finance Director
in a number of its businesses. Matthew has been a key part of the
management team that has delivered substantial increases in
revenue, profit and shareholder value.
Commenting, FirstGroup Chief Executive Tim O'Toole said:
"I am delighted to welcome Matthew to FirstGroup as Chief
Financial Officer; he is highly experienced and has a strong track
record of value creation. We look forward to benefiting from his
financial, strategic and organisational expertise and international
experience. I am confident Matthew will make a significant
contribution to the team as we continue to convert the Group’s
considerable potential into sustainable value creation."
Commenting, Matthew Gregory
said:
"This is a very exciting time to be joining FirstGroup. Its
market leading businesses have significant opportunities and I look
forward to working with Tim and the team to build on the solid
foundations already in place and deliver sustainable growth with
good financial returns."
Contacts at FirstGroup:
Faisal Tabbah, Head of Investor
Relations
Stuart Butchers, Group Head of Media
Tel: +44 20 7725 3354
Contacts at Brunswick PR:
Andrew Porter, Tel: +44 20 7404
5959
Notes
Matthew Gregory has been Group
Finance Director since 2012 for Essentra plc, a leading global
provider of essential components and solutions and a FTSE 250
constituent. He joined the company in 2003 (when it was a division
of Bunzl plc) as Finance Director of the Moss Plastic Parts
business and, following it becoming Filtrona plc, became Finance
Director of the Protection & Finishing Products division in
2006. Between 2010 and 2012, Matthew was Corporate Development
Director for the company where he played a key role in the
development of its 'Vision 2015' strategy and in building its
mergers and acquisitions capability. Prior to joining Essentra,
Matthew worked for The Rank Group plc in a number of senior finance
roles. Matthew's career began at Ernst & Young in 1989, where
he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
The key elements of Matthew's ongoing remuneration, which is
consistent with the Directors' Remuneration Policy approved by
shareholders in July 2015, are as
follows:
- On appointment his annual base salary will be £425,000.
- He will receive a pension allowance of 20% of base salary.
- He will be eligible to participate in the Group’s Executive
Annual Bonus Plan up to a maximum of 150% of base salary per annum
and in the Group’s Long Term Incentive Plan up to a maximum of 175%
of base salary per annum.
Matthew held a number of share incentives under various Essentra
incentive plans. In line with the approved Directors’ Remuneration
Policy, replacement awards form part of the recruitment
remuneration. Details of the agreed compensation and replacement
awards in FirstGroup shares will be provided following an
assessment of the performance of Essentra, and hence the value
foregone, no later than the next Directors’ Remuneration Report in
2016.
There are no additional matters that would require disclosure
pursuant to Listing Rule 9.6.13R in respect of Matthew Gregory.
FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is the leading transport operator in
the UK and North America. With
approximately £6 billion in revenues and around 110,000 employees,
we transported around 2.4 billion passengers last year. Each of our
five divisions is a leader in its field: In North America, First
Student is the largest provider of student transportation with a
fleet of around 49,000 yellow school buses, First Transit is one of
the largest providers of outsourced transit management and
contracting services, while Greyhound is the only nationwide
operator of scheduled intercity coach services. In the UK,
FirstGroup is one of Britain's
largest bus operators running a fleet of some 6,300 buses, and we
are one of the country's most experienced passenger rail operators,
carrying around 280 million passengers last year.
Our vision is to provide solutions for
an increasingly congested world... keeping people moving and
communities prospering.
Visit our website at www.firstgroupplc.com