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The Remuneration and Nominations Committee of DMGT, established
in 1993, is responsible inter alia for overall Group remuneration policy
and for setting the remuneration, benefits and terms and conditions
of employment of the Company’s executive Directors.
The members of the Committee are the Viscount Rothermere,
its chairman, Mr S M Gray, Mr N H Hakkarainen and
Mr J G Hemingway. The Combined Code recommends that a
remuneration committee should be composed entirely of independent
non-executive directors. The Board considers it wholly appropriate that
the Viscount Rothermere, as Chairman of the Board and as the
Company’s largest shareholder, is a member of the Committee. He
does not participate in discussions regarding his own remuneration.
While Mr Gray and Mr Hemingway are not considered by the Board
to be independent by virtue of their professional involvement with
the Chairman’s family interests, the Board does consider them to act
independently as regards remuneration issues.
Remuneration Policy
The Committee seeks to structure remuneration packages on an
individual basis appropriate to the level of responsibility, but generally
designed to retain and motivate the individual. In carrying out this
function, the Committee makes reference, where appropriate,
to external evidence of remuneration levels in other companies,
particularly in the media field, and to advice sought from leading
compensation consultancies. External consultants are appointed
directly by the Committee. It also seeks the recommendations of the
Chief Executive, who usually attends meetings of the Committee other
than when his own remuneration is being discussed, as regards the
remuneration of the other executive directors and of the divisional
managing directors.
The main components of the remuneration package for executive
Directors are:
- (i) basic salary, reviewed annually;
- (ii) where appropriate, annual performance related bonus. For the
Chairman, Chief Executive and Finance Director, this is related to the
performance of the Group as a whole and paid in DMGT ‘A’ Ordinary
shares through the Executive Bonus Scheme, details of which are
given on this page. For the year to 29th September, 2002, no bonus was
earned under this scheme. This scheme reaches the end of its ten-year
life this year and a similar scheme is being proposed to shareholders
at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. For other executive
directors, bonuses are paid at the discretion of the Remuneration
and Nominations Committee to reward individual performance;
- (iii) share options, since 1997 only exercisable on achievement
of demanding performance criteria as set out on notes below, to
provide a long term incentive which aligns their interests to those
of shareholders. Options granted until December 1994 under the
1989 Scheme were not subject to performance criteria as this was
not standard practice. Options are granted in phased blocks over
a number of years; and
- (iv) where appropriate, a long term incentive plan. Under this
scheme, established in February 2001, executives are invited to
commit shares in the Company at a market price equal to a maximum
of twice the value of their basic annual salary. If they hold those shares
for five years, they will be eligible to receive matching shares on a
sliding scale up to 200% of the value of the shares held, dependent
on the total shareholder return of the Company compared with a peer
group. The peer group which operates was chosen to reflect a range of
listed companies in the businesses and locations principally occupied
by DMGT. No award will be made if performance is below median
level. Further details are given on this page.
In the case of Mr Fallon, the Committee considers that his
remuneration as executive chairman of Euromoney Institutional
Investor plc, a separately listed company, should be set by the
remuneration committee of that company. The report on this
is set out in Euromoney’s Annual Report.
The Committee also sets the remuneration packages for the managing
directors of the Company’s operating divisions and oversees the bonus
arrangements established in each division. These are individually
designed to reflect the targets and objectives of each division. The
Committee does not expect to change the overall remuneration policy
in the current or subsequent years.
Pensions
The Group operates a two-tier, non-contributory defined benefit
pension scheme for senior employees (including most of the
Company’s Executive Directors), details of which are given on
this page. One of the Company’s Executive Directors is subject to the
Inland Revenue pensionable earnings’ cap and a funded unapproved
retirement benefits scheme has been put in place for him on the
same terms as for other capped senior executives. The assets of this
Scheme are held independently from the Group’s finances and are
administered by Trustees. It is the Company’s policy that annual
bonuses, payments under the Executive Bonus Scheme and benefits
in kind are not pensionable.
Non-Executive Directorships
The Company allows its Executive Directors to take a very limited
number of outside directorships.
Individuals retain the payments received from such services since
such appointments are not expected to impinge on their principal
employment.
Service Contracts
Contracts of service are negotiated on an individual basis as part
of the overall remuneration package and their length is inevitably
conditioned by competitive pressures in the media industry. For this
reason, the contracts of some of the executive directors exceed the
one year recommended in the Combined Code. The Chairman and
Mr Dutton have contracts of up to one year in duration. Messrs
Sinclair, Williams, Dacre and Fallon have rolling two year contracts.
Details of these service contracts are set out below:
| |
Date of Contract |
|
Notice Period |
|
The Viscount Rothermere
C J F Sinclair
J P Williams
D M M Dutton
P M Dacre
P M Fallon |
17 Oct, 94
15 Oct, 96
8 Jun, 93
27 Nov, 02
13 Jul, 98
2 Jun, 86 |
|
1 month
2 years
2 years
1 year
2 years
2 years |
In the event of earlier termination of their contracts, each
Director is entitled to compensation equal to their basic salary
for the notice period. Mr Sinclair has undertaken that he would
seek to mitigate any such payment by obtaining alternative employment
and repaying to the Company an amount equal to any remuneration
earned therefrom. There is no entitlement to compensation for
bonuses which might have been earned during the notice period.
Share options would be treated as for any member of the scheme,
depending on the reason for termination of the contract. Mr
Sinclair is entitled, on a change of control of the Company,
to give notice under his contract within 60 days of the change
of control, and to receive compensation for this notice period
as set out above.
Non-executive directors are appointed for specified terms and
are subject to re-election by the shareholders at the Annual
General Meeting following appointment, and thereafter every
three years. Each appointment can be terminated before the end
of the three year period, with no notice or fees due. The dates
of the appointment or subsequent re-appointment of the non-executive
Directors are set out below:
Date of appointment/re-appointment
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|
Sir Patrick Sergeant
I G Park
N H Hakkarainen
F P Lowy
C W Dunstone
J G Hemingway
S M Gray
K Schwab
F P Balsemão |
|
16 Feb, 00
16 Feb, 00
14 Feb, 01
14 Feb, 01
12 Dec, 01
13 Feb, 02
13 Feb, 02
13 Feb, 02
27 Nov, 02 |
Directors’ Remuneration
The emoluments of the Directors of the Company for the years ended
29th September, 2002 and 30th September, 2001 are shown below.
Click
to see Directors' Remuneration graph... 
Notes to Directors’ Remuneration
- (i) The figure given for ‘fees and salary’ for The Viscount
Rothermere includes £47,000 (2001 £45,000) paid to him as part of
the Funded Unapproved Retirement Benefits Scheme (see Note ii
to Directors’ Pension Entitlements below).
- (ii) Benefits in kind include the taxable value of company cars, fuel
allowances, company contributions to medical insurance plans and,
in the case of Mr Dacre, of accommodation provided for him in
Central London.
- (iii) The Viscount Rothermere, Mr Sinclair and Mr Williams are
members of the DMGT Executive Bonus Scheme (‘the Scheme’).
Directors retiring by rotation and standing for re-election at the
forthcoming Annual General Meeting are shown in the Directors’
Report on page 33. Sir Patrick Sergeant will stand down at the
conclusion of the Annual General Meeting in February 2004.
Non-Executive Directors’ Remuneration
Fees payable to non-executive Directors are reviewed annually,
including a comparison with the level of fees paid by other companies
of similar size and complexity; these fees are shown in the table below.
A recommendation to the Board on this subject is then made. Fees
were last raised with effect from 1st October, 1999 and an increase in
the basic Director’s fee from £18,000 p.a. to £24,000 p.a. has been made
with effect from 1st January, 2003.
The Scheme, introduced in 1993, is intended to reward executives
for excellent growth in earnings per share by the Group. Earnings per
share each year are compared with the equivalent figure three years
earlier indexed up by reference to the RPI. A bonus, calculated as a
percentage of salary, is paid for growth in real terms with a higher
percentage for higher growth. The maximum bonus which can be
earned is 50% of salary for which real growth in earnings per share
of 52% over the three years must be achieved. In addition, earnings
per share have to increase over the previous year; if they do not, the
earned bonus is frozen until there is an increase. The bonus is paid,
net of the amount required to meet the related PAYE liability, in the
form of ‘A’ Ordinary Non-Voting shares of DMGT, which must be
retained for three years.
Group earnings per share, calculated on a consistent basis with
previous years, before amortisation of intangible assets, have shown
a real decrease of 20% which, under the Scheme, results in no bonus
payment to Scheme members.
Mr Fallon is entitled to a share of the pre-tax profit earned by
Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, which has a comprehensive
profit sharing scheme that links the pay of executive directors to
the profits of Euromoney.
- (iv) Pension contributions are those made to money purchase
schemes as set out on page 39. The prior year figures in the
table also include such contributions made last year.
- (v) In addition to their fees as Directors of the Company,
Sir Patrick Sergeant also receives a fee as president of Euromoney
Institutional Investment plc and Mr Park as chairman of Northcliffe
Newspapers.
- (vi) In February 2001, ordinary shareholders approved the
introduction of the Daily Mail and General Trust Long Term
Incentive Plan (the ‘LTIP’). The LTIP is designed to align
the interests of participants and shareholders by requiring
participants to make a substantial investment in the Company
as a condition to participating in the LTIP. Further, the
LTIP will only provide rewards for participants if the Company
achieves exceptional returns for shareholders; this is achieved
by calibrating participants’ rewards by reference to the Company’s
performance against a peer group of comparable media companies.
The LTIP is supervised by the Committee and is operated in conjunction
with an employee discretionary trust (the ‘Trust’). TheTrust
will acquire ‘A’ Ordinary Non-Voting Shares in the Company (‘shares’)
to satisfy awards under the LTIP. The Committee intends to operate
the LTIP annually. Prospective participants are invited by the
Committee to agree to commit shares to the LTIP. Usually invitations
are made in tranches over a period of one to four years, and
individuals are given six months to make commitments in order
to allow for them to make purchases of shares, where appropriate.
Once an individual has agreed to commit shares which are owned
by him or by his close family, the Trustee of the Trust (‘the
Trustee’) decides whether to make an award of an equal number
of shares to those committed.
Awards under the LTIP have been made to four executive directors.
In July 2001, Messrs Sinclair, Williams and Dacre were invited
to commit 177,600, 98,100 shares and 185,600 shares respectively
in two equal annual tranches in the case of Messrs Sinclair
and Dacre, and in three equal annual tranches in the case of
Mr Williams. In June 2002, Mr Dutton was invited to commit 30,282
shares in three equal tranches. In July 2002, the Viscount Rothermere
was invited to commit 115,200 shares in four equal tranches.
Having received agreements to commit shares, the Trustee has
made the awards set out in the table below.
Awards under the LTIP are subject to stringent performance conditions,
which will determine whether, and to what extent, shares under
awards will vest. The performance conditions relate to the total
shareholder return (‘TSR’) of the Company initially over a five-year
period against a peer group of UK and overseas companies determined
by the Committee. TSR is the aggregate of share price growth
and dividends paid (assuming that such dividends are reinvested
in shares during the five year period), and is commonly adopted
as a measure of comparative performance.
Daily Mail and General Trust Long-Term
Incentive Plan Click
to see Long-Term Incentive Plan... 
This comparator peer group is as follows:
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Emap plc
Independent News and Media plc
Pearson plc
Reed Elsevier plc
SMG plc
The News Corporation Ltd
The Thomson Corporation plc
Trinity Mirror plc
United Business Media plc Gannett Co inc. New York Times
Co
Tribune Co
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Awards will be realisable after the performance period to the
extent of the percentage in the right-hand column below according
to the Company’s place in the list of comparator companies as
indicated in the left-hand column below:
TSR Ranking within the list of
Comparator companies |
% of Award capable
of realisation |
|
First
Second or third
Fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh
Below seventh (i.e. below median) |
200%
100%
50%
0% |
|
At the end of the five year performance period, participants may elect
either to realise their awards at that time or to extend the performance
period to seven years. If they elect to extend the performance period,
the level of committed shares must be maintained throughout the
extended period. At the end of the seven year performance period,
the Company’s TSR performance will be measured. The awards will be
realisable after the performance period to the extent of the percentage
in the right-hand column below according to the Company’s place
in the list of comparator companies as indicated in the left-hand
column below:
TSR Ranking within the list of
Comparator companies |
|
% of Award capable
of realisation |
|
First
Second or third
Fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh
Below seventh (i.e. below median) |
|
300%
150%
75%
0% |
|
In the period from 1st January, 2001, the date on which the
performance comparison begins for awards made during 2001, to
29th September, 2002 DMGT ranked tenth within the comparator
group. In the period from 1st January, 2002, the date on which
the performance comparison begins for awards made during 2002,
to 29th September, 2002 DMGT ranked ninth within the
comparator group.
Graphs of DMGT’s performance against each of its comparators
for the periods from 1st January, 2001 and 1st January, 2002 to
29th September, 2002 are set out on this page.
The graphs on page 40 compare the DMGT total shareholder return
with that of the FTSE 100 index and of the media index over a period
of five years. As a constituent of both indices, the Directors regard
them as the most appropriate indices for purposes of comparison
of the Group’s performance. The graphs below illustrate
performance over a ten year period.
Directors’ Pension Entitlements
| |
|
Age at
29th September, 2002 |
|
Increase in
deferred
pension
during year |
|
Accumulated
deferred
pension at
29th September,
2002
|
|
| |
|
£000 |
|
£000 |
|
£000 |
|
The Viscount Rothermere (Note ii)
C J F Sinclair
J P Williams
P M Dacre |
|
34
54
49
53 |
|
2
8
6
47 |
|
15
366
160
401 |
|
Notes to Directors’ Pension Entitlements
- (i) The DMGT Senior Executives’ Pension Fund, of which certain
executive directors are members, is non-contributory for members.
The normal retirement age under the Fund for this group is 60. The
deferred pension is the pension reflecting service to the relevant
date and based on pensionable earnings at that date. A spouse’s/
dependant’s pension equal to two thirds of the director’s pension is
incorporated and the director can elect to receive the pension from
age 50, subject to a discount if retirement takes place before 60. The
pension, when in payment, will receive annual increases in line with
inflation, which may be limited when inflation exceeds 5% per annum.
The increases in the deferred pension and the transfer value during
the year are calculated excluding the effect of inflation.

- (ii) The Viscount Rothermere is subject to the Inland Revenue
pensionable earnings cap. To mitigate the impact of this pension
restriction, the Company has formulated a policy under which assets
are being held under trust and invested in a funded unapproved
retirement benefits scheme. During the year, £69,225 (2001 £70,050)
was paid into this trust on his behalf.
- (iii) Mr Fallon waived profit share in respect of the current year and
of future years of £138,800 (2001 £138,800). This waived profit share
was paid into a pension scheme on Mr Fallon’s behalf.
- (iv) The Company does not make any pension contributions on
behalf of Mr Dutton.
Total Shareholder Return
Click to see Shareholder Return graph...
Click to see DMGT vs various Comparators graph... 
Directors’ Interests
The number of shares of the Company and of securities of other
Group companies in which Directors or their families had an
interest at the dates shown are stated below.
Click
to see Directors' Interests graph... 
Directors' Interests graph cont... 
- (i) The table opposite sets out options granted: under the
DMGT 1989 Executive Share Option Scheme from January 1993
to December 1994; and under the DMGT 1997 Executive Share
Option Scheme from June 1997. All options under both schemes
were granted at market value at the date of grant and none
required any payment. They are not normally exercisable before
the third anniversary of the date of grant and in all circumstances
will lapse if not exercised within ten years.
- (ii) No Directors’ options lapsed or had their terms and
conditions varied during the year.
- (iii) The mid-market price of the ‘A’ Ordinary Non-Voting
shares was £5.015 at 29th September, 2002 and £5.75 at 30th
September, 2001. It ranged from £4.605 to £8.05 during the
year.
- (iv) Options outstanding under the 1989 Scheme were granted
from January 1993 to December 1994 at prices ranging from
£1.9625 to £3.1125 per share. These options have all vested
and are exercisable before December 2004.

- (v) Since June 1997, all grants have been made under the
DMGT 1997 Executive Share Option Scheme at prices ranging
from £4.070625 to £10.295. These options are normally exercisable
only when two demanding performance conditions have been met.
The first condition is that, in respect of four out of six
consecutive monthly calculation dates (which start in the
thirtieth month following the date of grant of a particular
option), the total shareholder return (‘TSR’) of the Company
must exceed that of the FTSE 100 index. Secondly, there must
be real growth in earnings per share over a period of three
consecutive financial years.
- (vi) Options granted in June 1997 under the 1997 Scheme
at £4.070625 per share are exercisable as both performance
criteria have been met. On 31st October, 2001, the TSR condition
was also met in respect of the options granted in December
1998 at £6.475 per share, but since real growth in adjusted
earnings per share was not achieved in the prior year, nor
in the year ended 29th September, 2002, compared to that of
three years previously, there will be a further minimum delay
of approximately one year before those options become exercisable.
Neither of the performance conditions has been met yet in
respect of the options granted in December 1999 at £10.295
per share. Accordingly, there will also be a minimum delay
of approximately one year before those options become exercisable.
- (vii) Gains made by Directors from exercises of options
in the Company are included in the analysis of Directors’
emoluments, required by the Companies Act, in Note 11 to the
Profit and Loss Account. On 16th July, Mr Dacre exercised
options over 40,000 shares, retaining the shares when the
mid-market price was £4.99; this resulted in a gain of £36,775.
- (viii) There were 3,647,500 options outstanding under both
schemes at the end of the year, as set out in Note 33 (iii)
to the Balance Sheets Note viii. This represents 0.91% of
the Company’s total issued share capital.
- (ix) The Company has been notified that, under sections
198 and 204 of the Companies Act 1985, each of the Viscount
Rothermere, Mr Hemingway and Mr Gray were deemed to have been
interested as shareholders in 12,556,764 Ordinary shares at
29th September, 2002 and at 30th September, 2001.
- (x) At 29th September, 2002 and at 30th September, 2001,
the Viscount Rothermere was beneficially interested in 756,700
ordinary shares of Rothermere Continuation Limited, (‘RCL’),
the Company’s ultimate holding company.

- (xi) Directors’ shareholdings in Euromoney Institutional
Investor plc (‘Euromoney’) were as follows:
| |
29th September,
2002 |
30th September,
2001 |
|
Beneficial
The Viscount Rothermere
C J F Sinclair
J P Williams
Sir Patrick Sergeant
P M Fallon |
17,470
7,494
1,825
317,804
901,061 |
17,470
7,494
1,825
317,804
901,061
|
|
| |
1,245,654 |
1,245,654 |
|
Non-Beneficial
Sir Patrick Sergeant |
_ |
82,900 |
- (xii) The Viscount Rothermere was beneficially interested
in 68 ordinary shares in Associated Newspapers North America
Inc. at 29th September, 2002 and at 30th September, 2001.

- (xiii) At 29th September, 2002, Mr Fallon, held options
in Euromoney, normally exercisable as follows:
| |
29th September,
2002 |
30th September,
2001 |
|
At £3.54 before June 2005
At £3.9575 before February 2009
At £4.3125 before June 2009 |
346,268
85,000
255,000
|
346,268
85,000
255,000
|
|
| |
686,268 |
686,268 |
|
The mid-market price of Euromoney’s shares was £2.05 at 29th September,
2002 and £2.115 at 30th September, 2001. It ranged from £2.05
to £3.80 during the year.
Click
to see Shareholder Return graph... 
- (xiv) The figures in the table on this page include ‘A’ shares awarded
to executives under the DMGT Executive Bonus Scheme. For the
Viscount Rothermere and Messrs Sinclair and Williams respectively,
20,336, 37,967 and 20,621 of these shares were subject to restrictions,
explained on page 37, at 29th September, 2002. The comparable
figures at 30th September, 2001 were 20,336, 64,635 and 34,245 shares
each respectively.
- (xv) The figures in the table on this page include ‘A’ shares committed
by executives under the LTIP, details of which are set out on this page.
For the Viscount Rothermere, Messrs Sinclair, Williams, Dutton and
Dacre such committed shares amounted to 28,800, 176,600, 65,400,
10,094 and 185,600 at 29th September, 2002. The comparable figures
at 30th September, 2001 were nil, 88,800, 32,700, nil and 63,093 shares
each respectively.
- (xvi) Messrs Gray and Hakkarainen, as directors of DMGT Trustees
Limited, are deemed to have a non-beneficial interest in ‘A’ Ordinary
Non-Voting shares, purchased by DMGT Trustees Limited, the Trustee
of the DMGT Share Trust. 3,027,687 ‘A’ Ordinary Non-Voting shares
were held at 29th September, 2002 and are included in the figures in the
tables above for each of these Directors. At 30th September, 2001,
the comparable figure was 2,782,871 ‘A’ Ordinary Non-Voting shares.
- (xvii) All shareholdings were unchanged at 27th November, 2002.
(xviii) No Director of the Company has or had a disclosable interest in
any contract of significance subsisting during or at the end of the year.

- (xix) Disclosable transactions by the Group under FRS 8, Related
PartyTransactions, are set out in Note 41. There have been no other
disclosable transactions by the Company and its subsidiaries with
directors of Group companies and with substantial shareholders
since the publication of the last Annual Report.
On behalf of the Board
Rothermere
Chairman of the Remuneration
and Nominations Committee
27th November, 2002
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