Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2008

38. emPloYee sHaRe sCHemes (CONTINuED)
Performance criteria
The option exercise may be conditional upon the performance of the
company and/or the participant over such period and measured against
such objective criteria as may be determined by the Directors. The initial
performance criteria established by the Directors of the company were that
the closing bid price of a share in The evolution Group plc, as derived from
the Daily official list published by The london stock exchange, must be not
less on average than a specified amount for a period of 60 consecutive
days before options can be exercised. if the average share price is £0.90,
then 25% of the options may be exercised; at £1.10 a further 25% may be
exercised; at £1.30 then a further 25% may be exercised; and at £1.50, the
remaining 25% may be exercised. At a meeting of the Board on 21
november 2002, approval was given to the waiving of these initial
performance criteria for all new options granted under the scheme by
varying the scheme rules. The remuneration committee, having made
comparisons with the practice of other Groups and taken the appropriate
legal advice, made this recommendation.
Exercise of options
An option may not be exercised later than the tenth anniversary after the
date of grant. The earliest date of exercise is generally two years after the
date of grant for ordinary options and three years after the date of grant
for super options.
Scheme Limits
The overall limit on the number of shares which may be issued to satisfy
ordinary options, is 10% of the issued share capital and for super options,
is 5% of the issued share capital of the company.
Options granted
At 31 December 2008 nil ordinary options (2007: nil) and 4,613,275 super
options (2007: 5,254,825) were outstanding with exercise prices between
27.00p and 130.50p. The options can be exercised between 29 June 2004
and 4 november 2016.
notes to tHe FinanCial statements CONTINuED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2008
76 The evoluTion Group plc AnnuAl reporT & AccounTs 2008
The Evolution Group Plc 2000 Executive Share Option
Scheme (unapproved)
shareholders approved this scheme on 20 november 2000.
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 either
ordinary or super options.
Option price
The exercise price shall be determined by the Directors but shall not be
less than the greater of the market value of the share at the date of grant
or the nominal value of a share.
Performance criteria
The option exercise on ordinary options may be conditional upon the
performance of the company and/or the participant over such period
and measured against such objective criteria as may be determined
by the Directors. There are no performance criteria for super options.
Exercise of options
An option may not be exercised later than the tenth anniversary after the
date of grant. The earliest date of exercise is generally three years after
the grant for ordinary options and five years after the date of grant for
super options.
Scheme Limits
The overall limit on the number of shares, which may be issued to satisfy
ordinary options, is 10% of the issued share capital and for super options,
is 5% of the issued share capital of the company.
Options granted
At 31 December 2008, 2,025,933 ordinary options (2007: 2,025,933)
and 1,065,632 super options (2007: 1,065,632) were outstanding with
an exercise price of 58.67p. The options can be exercised between
11 May 2004 and 11 May 2011.
The Evolution Group Plc 2000 Executive Share Option
Scheme (Approved)
The terms of this scheme are exactly the same as the unapproved 2000
scheme save the restriction that no individual shall be granted options over
shares with an aggregate market value (calculated as the strike price at
date of grant) exceeding £30,000.
Options granted
no options were granted in either period.