Chairman Wallis and group chief executive Jones were the architects of the year 2000 acquisitions of Waddington and Rexams UK printing businesses by takeover vehicle John Mansfield, subsequently renamed Communisis.

The pair are the sole beneficiaries of the so-called Mansfield 1999 Incentive Plan. This involves calculating a payout based on the amount by which Communisis total shareholder return (TSR) outperforms the TSR of an equivalent investment in the FTSE all share index, and is measured at the financial year ends of 2001 and 2002. The first payment has been made, and the second is scheduled for next spring.

The scheme is unusual because company executives are usually rewarded via share options. They probably set it up because it wasnt possible to set up a bonus scheme based on Mansfield share options, as it was effectively a shell company, noted one City source. They have created a lot of shareholder wealth in a relatively short time theyve created something that has a higher p/e ratio than St Ives. The question is what they do next.

Communisis made an exceptional provision of 5.2m in its accounts for the year to 31 December in respect of the bonus pool.