Zegona chief tops UK-listed pay league with £131mn award
Little-known company specialises in buying, turning round and selling struggling telecoms groups
The boss of a little-known UK telecoms group received £131mn in total pay last year, making him the highest paid chief executive of a London-listed business.
Eamonn O’Hare of Zegona received £129mn from a management share incentive scheme in the year ending December 2024, according to the company’s annual report, in addition to base salary and other benefits totalling slightly less than £1.5mn.
The company’s chief operating officer Robert Samuelson, was paid a total of £66mn in 2024. The figures were first reported by the Sunday Times newspaper.
Zegona, which was founded by O’Hare and Samuelson — both former Virgin Media executives — in 2015, specialises in buying, turning round and selling struggling telecoms groups.
The most high-profile of its deals was its €5bn acquisition of Vodafone’s Spanish business last year.
Since a 2023 capital raise to help finance the deal, Zegona’s share price has risen from about £1.50 in November that year to more than £8.
In its annual report, Zegona said it had returned Vodafone Spain to growth and cut costs, including a 28 per cent reduction in headcount.
The report noted the “exceptional contribution” of management over a three-year period from October 2021 to October 2024.
Zegona did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The pay for the Zegona executives is much higher than the UK standard, which has long lagged behind the US.
According to the High Pay Centre, a UK think-tank, median FTSE 100 CEO pay excluding pension, is £4.2mn. The highest paid FTSE 100 boss, AstraZeneca chief Pascal Soriot, took home just under £15mn last year.
Denise Coates, chief executive of family-owned gambling business Bet365, was paid more than £150mn last year.