Fexco, the international financial and teleservices company, will introduce an employee share option scheme providing benefits for over one-third of its employees, the company said yesterday.
Options on just less than 5 per cent of the shares in the company have been granted to 345 employees who joined before December 31st, 1997.
The latest initiative follows the introduction in 1998 of an approved profit sharing scheme for staff who had been with the company for five years or more. This scheme has given employees a shareholding in Fexco of 3 per cent to date. A further 2 per cent of the company will be distributed to the staff under this scheme over the next two years, resulting in employees holding a total of 10 per cent of the company's shares.
While there will be some overlap, more than 400 employees will now be covered by the two schemes, according to a Fexco spokeswoman. The company employs more than 800 people, most of them at its corporate headquarters in Killorglin, Co Kerry. It also has offices in London, Edinburgh, Madrid, Malta and Dubai.
Chairman Mr Brian McCarthy said the scheme had been introduced as a reward for the part employees had played in the development of the group and in recognition of the importance of their role in the firm's future development.
"This also benefits the company in the areas of employee recruitment, motivation and retention," he said.
The spokeswoman said staff turnover was not an issue for Fexco.
Fexco, set up by Mr McCarthy in 1981, provides a range of business-to-business and consumer financial services, including multi-currency credit-card processing, tax reclaim, international payments, tourism services and stockbroking. The company operates the Western Union franchises in Ireland, Britain, Spain, Malta and Gibraltar. It also operates the Diners Club franchise in Ireland.
