Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2008

38. emPloYee sHaRe sCHemes (CONTINuED)
The share options outstanding at the end of the year have a weighted average exercise price and expected remaining life as follows:
2008 2007
Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted
Number average average Number average average
Range of exercise prices of share exercise price expected of share exercise price expected
(pence) options (pence) remaining life options (pence) remaining life
1 19,863,532 1.00 8.00 20,320,807 1.00 8.19
25-55 1,878,275 50.37 2.81 2,439,825 48.02 4.11
56-155 5,826,565 88.86 4.70 5,906,565 89.31 5.74
27,568,372 28,667,197
The Evolution Group Plc 2006 Performance Share Plan
This plan was approved by shareholders on the 26 May 2006 at its Annual
General Meeting.
Eligibility
Any Director of the company, or a Group company, and any employee of the
company, or a Group company, may be invited to participate in the plan.
Nature of Plan
The plan provides for participants to be awarded free shares in the parent
company subject to achievement of specific performance criteria.
Performance criteria
The performance conditions determine the number of shares with reference
to the average mid market share price as derived from the Daily official list
of the london stock exchange on all dealing days over any period of 60
consecutive days during the performance period, which is from 1 April 2006
to 31 March 2009. The prescribed performance growth is derived from a
base share price of £1.42 at 31 December 2005.
if the average share price equals or exceeds £2.13 (an increase of 50% from
base price) within the performance period then an award may be exercised
over one-third of the shares granted. however if the average share price equals
or exceeds £2.84 (an increase of 100% from base price) then the full award of
the shares granted may take place. Additionally, the satisfactory employment
by the individual within a Group company throughout the period following
grant of an award is required. The earliest exercise date is 30 June 2009.
As at 1 February 2009 the performance criteria can no longer be met and
hence awards under this scheme will lapse on 1 April 2009.
Scheme Limits
The number of shares which may be issued to satisfy awards under
this plan is limited 25,000,000 shares. The scheme additionally restricts
the maximum number of shares available to Directors of the company
to 10,000,000 shares. individuals who fall within the definition of a Director
of the company before 31 December 2007 are not eligible for awards after
31 December 2006. An amount of 2,000,000 shares not awarded to
Directors of the company before 31 December 2006 up to the 10,000,000
share limit have become available to award to employees or to future
Directors of the company.
notes to tHe FinanCial statements CONTINuED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2008
74 The evoluTion Group plc AnnuAl reporT & AccounTs 2008
Awards granted
At 31 December 2008, awards of 25,000,000 (2007: 25,000,000) shares
were outstanding. Following vesting the shares can be exercised between
30 June 2009 and 30 June 2016 subject to achievement of relevant
performance conditions.
The Evolution Group Plc 2002 Executive Share Option Scheme
The Board approved this plan on 13 March 2002 and it was approved by
shareholders on 10 october 2003.
Eligibility
Any Director of the company, or a Group company, and any employee of the
company, or a Group company, may be invited to participate in the plan.
Nature of Plan
The plan provides for participants to be awarded shares in the company at
their nominal cost. subject to achievement of performance criteria, awards
of shares convert into call rights over such shares. The plan is operated in
conjunction with an employee benefit trust on three levels.
it is operated as a standalone plan and it is also used as the framework for
the Key performers share incentive plan (“Kpsip”) introduced for employees
of evolution securities limited in January 2003, and the Market Making
and Trading share incentive plan (“MMTsip”) which was introduced for the
market making team of esl in January 2005, where it forms the method of
delivery of such awards made within the Kpsip framework.
The Evolution Group Plc 2002 Executive Share Option Scheme
Performance criteria
• Standalone plan
under the standalone plan the basic performance criteria used prior to
the vesting of awards was growth in earnings of 15% per annum over the
vesting period of the award. Additionally, the satisfactory employment by
the individual within a Group company throughout the period following grant
of an award is required. From January 2006, following the review by the
remuneration committee, it was concluded that the continued imposition of
performance criteria for all awards on the basis of 15% earnings growth was
too generally applied and that where awards were made to employees of the
Group’s operating subsidiaries, then the sole general criteria should be that
of continued satisfactory employment within a Group company.