Persimmon CEO to step down following massive bonus row

Jeff Fairburn is to leave his top job at Persimmon at the company’s request following a media storm surrounding his £75million bonus - the BBC reports.

Fairburn was initially due to receive a bonus of £100million last year, but it was reduced by £25million after a public outcry. The company has announced that they will try to claw back some of the bonus, and Fairburn would continue to be paid until December 31 2018.

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Roger Devlin, Persimmon's Chairman, cited the ongoing "distraction" over the £75million pay award as the reason why a change of leadership was needed.

Fairburn himself walked away from a BBC reporter last month when he was asked about his bumper bonus. "I'd rather not talk about that," he said, adding it was “really unfortunate” that the interviewer had asked him about pay.