---
title: "Severn Trent Doubles CEO Incentive Plan to £3.1m Amid Anger Over Water Pay"
description: "The UK water company has doubled the maximum long-term share award for new chief executive James Jesic to about £3.1m, reviving criticism of executive pay across a sector under fire for sewage spills and rising debt."
category: "Companies"
category_url: https://boursel.com/category/companies
author: "Hannah Blackwood"
published: 2026-07-04T16:42:34.000Z
updated: 2026-07-04T16:42:34.000Z
canonical: https://boursel.com/article/severn-trent-doubles-ceo-incentive-plan-to-3-1m-amid-anger-over-water-pay
tags: ["severn-trent", "executive-pay", "corporate-governance", "water-industry", "uk"]
---
# Severn Trent Doubles CEO Incentive Plan to £3.1m Amid Anger Over Water Pay

The UK water company has doubled the maximum long-term share award for new chief executive James Jesic to about £3.1m, reviving criticism of executive pay across a sector under fire for sewage spills and rising debt.

Severn Trent has doubled the maximum long-term incentive available to its incoming chief executive, sharpening a long-running argument over pay in Britain's water industry. The company lifted the ceiling on the plan from 200% to 400% of base salary for new boss James Jesic, [PA Media reported](https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/severn-trent-doubles-ceo-reward-060005000.html). On a base salary of £775,000, that puts the maximum long-term award at roughly £3.1m.

## What changed

The restructured package does not raise every element of Jesic's pay. Severn Trent trimmed his maximum annual bonus from 120% to 100% of salary even as it doubled the long-term share plan, [according to PA Media](https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/severn-trent-doubles-ceo-reward-060005000.html). Taken together with salary, pension and benefits, the reporting put his maximum possible pay in a single year at about £4.8m. Long-term incentive plans typically pay out only if performance and share-price targets are met over several years, so the £3.1m figure is a ceiling rather than a guaranteed sum.

The award would exceed what his predecessor earned at her peak. Liv Garfield, who led Severn Trent for more than a decade, reached a high of about £3.9m in total pay in 2022, [PA Media reported](https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/severn-trent-doubles-ceo-reward-060005000.html).

## Why it is controversial

The timing is awkward for a sector that has become a lightning rod for public anger over pollution and pricing. James Wallace, chief executive of the campaign group River Action, said the public would "rightly question whether any chief executive should receive a multimillion-pound pay package" at a company he said recorded "around 36,000 sewage spills lasting more than 200,000 hours in 2025," [in comments reported by PA Media](https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/severn-trent-doubles-ceo-reward-060005000.html). Severn Trent, which supplies water and sewerage services across the Midlands, has pointed to its own investment plans and environmental improvements in response to such criticism.

## The financial backdrop

The pay debate plays out against a stretched balance sheet common to the sector. Analysis by Interactive Investor put Severn Trent's net debt at about £6.63bn, up 6% year on year, with the effective cost of that debt rising to 6.4% from 4.2%, [Interactive Investor reported](https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/ii-view-severn-trent-raises-dividend-despite-expensive-debt-ii526077). The company has continued to raise its dividend even so, a policy critics say diverts money that could fund infrastructure, and supporters say reflects the steady, regulated cash flows that make utilities attractive to income investors.

For shareholders, generous long-term incentives are meant to retain and motivate a new chief executive through a demanding investment cycle. For customers and campaigners, they land as a provocation at a time when bills are rising and spills remain in the headlines. Both readings will feature when investors vote on pay at the company's next annual meeting.

## Sources

- [Severn Trent doubles CEO reward plan to £3.1m despite anger over water pay](https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/severn-trent-doubles-ceo-reward-060005000.html)
- [ii view: Severn Trent raises dividend despite expensive debt](https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/ii-view-severn-trent-raises-dividend-despite-expensive-debt-ii526077)