Lush paid out millions in bonuses in the year to June 30, 2022, despite faltering profits, with awards for senior staff almost matching the amount the cosmetics firm received in government support.
Some £5.0mln was paid to eight staff, including co-founder Mark Constantine and his wife Mo, according to the company's results statement, just below the £5.1mln granted through government support.
Much of this came in the form of business tax relief, as the company reported plummeting like-for-like profits from £29.2mln to £1.7mln during 2022.
Sales “fell short of expectations,” according to the group, with Covid initially causing issues before inflationary pressure hit in the wake of the Ukraine war.
Overall, sales rose by 5.4% to £430.8mln in 2022, still lagging behind pre-pandemic and Brexit levels recorded in 2019.
“Is Brexit to blame,” the company asked as a result, “our popularity in Europe has certainly waned since Brexit, and we need to rebuild the love of our UK-owned brand across Europe”.
Reassuring that the company should be able to cope over the coming years, with its 2022’s results also impacted by the takeover of its North American joint venture, Lush added, and there was no “material” risk from rising interest rates.