George is Footsie's top finance director

By Nick Goodway for MailOnline
Updated: 02:26 EST, 27 April 2005

 

THE Real Finance Magazine and CBI Excellence Award for top FTSE 100 finance director has gone to David George of Enterprise Inns, who had a busy 2004 raising new debt, a £50m rights issue and the final £690m acquisition of The Unique Pub Company.

That helped push Enterprise Inns into the FTSE 100. Overall winner of the FTSE 250 category was Paul Hampden Smith of Travis Perkins, the builders' merchant.

He was praised for his role in the £950 million purchase of Wickes last year, although the DIY chain has recently seen a slump in trading which led to a sharp fall in Travis Perkins' share price.

The awards are made on a points system, with scoring based on total shareholder return, earnings per share growth, return on capital employed and the decrease in working capital each over the last three years.

Over the past three years, Travis Perkins has delivered earnings per share growth of 26%. But some shareholders are upset over a £100,000 bonus being paid to outgoing chief executive Francis McKay for co-operating in the handover to his successor, Geoff Cooper.

Members of the National Association of Pension Funds are being advised to vote against the company's remuneration report at next week's annual meeting.

The award for finance director of a company outside the FTSE 350 went to Gordon Oliver of floorings group James Halstead.