RICS slashes chief exec’s salary by almost 40%

RICS' chief executive in-waiting Sean Tompkins will be paid £255,000 a year, almost 40% less than former chief executive Louis Armstrong’s £406,000 a year, against a backdrop of salaries being frozen or slashed elsewhere.

Tompkins will take over the role on 1 September this year. The announcement signals a shift towards a largely performance-based reward mix for senior executives at the organisation. His salary - along with that of all other RICS employees - will be assessed on an annual basis by leading members through regular performance reviews. If Tompkins is judged to have performed well, he could also receive a bonus. All targets and objectives will be set at the beginning of the financial year and will be closely aligned to the corporate objectives agreed by RICS’ governing council, the organisation said in a statement.

According to Peter Collis, Chair of the RICS remuneration committee, Tompkins’ salary reflects a move by RICS to ‘keep costs down’: ‘We implemented a pay freeze last year. We’re a members organisation, so our salaries are paid by our members, so we want to try and keep costs down. Sean was also very keen to achieve things in a cost-effective way. However, we want to incentivise people to beat their targets and bonuses will be awarded if targets are beaten,’ Collis told PropertyEU.

Nevertheless, Tompkins salary represents 'quite a cut', compared to his predecessor’s, according to one London-based analyst who asked not to be named. 'I don't think this can be solely based on the current climate; I suspect other factors come into play. Perhaps looking into the timing of the initial start of his predecessor and the length of his service - given that most of it would have been during the good times - could explain why the new CEO is taking a significantly lower starting salary,' she said.

According to the 19th annual Estates Gazette salary survey published in February - which questioned 782 property professionals across the UK about their pay and conditions - the property sector’s average salary has fallen 4.8% since last year's survey to £48,721. In addition, the survey revealed that average salaries are now 8.8% lower than they were two years ago, at the top of the market, when they stood at £53,370.