The board at Newcastle housebuilders Bellway have agreed a 20% pay cut, with the money saved being donated to a range of charities.
The measures, which the company says are in reaction to the coronavirus outbreak, will cover all of April and May, and will late to all basic salary and other fees.
The company has also announced that it will match-fund the donations with a contribution to its national charity partner, Cancer Research UK, saying that its “important work and fundraising capacity has been adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Bellway, one of the country’s largest housebuilders, suspended its construction activity at the end of March, saying that it didn’t think it was possible to maintain social distancing for its workers, despite the Government allowing construction sites to stay open.
At the time, chief executive Jason Honeyman said he expected house sales to “almost cliff-edge” as the UK economy came to a halt to slow the spread of Covid-19.
The company said it was well placed to weather the slowdown, though it paused the acquisition of new plots for housing and postponed a decision on whether to pay an interim dividend until later in the year.
