Former WANdisco bosses face demands to repay bonuses

Two former executives of WANdisco are facing demands from the embattled data company to repay bonuses totalling nearly £650,000.

David Richards, WANdisco’s co-founder and former CEO, and Erik Miller, the company’s ex-finance chief, have been asked by the board to return the $832,000 (£647,000) bonus awarded last year, Sky News reported.

The pair stepped down in April. WANdisco said the resignations were unrelated to the fraud scandal that has rocked the Sheffield-headquartered company.

An internal investigation found the company may have fraudulently misrepresented its revenue by $15m (£12m), while $115m in sales bookings have been written off as false.

This led to WANdisco suspending its shares from trading on the London AIM market in March and a probe from the financial regulator.

In July it resumed trading after securing an emergency £24m lifeline from investors and appointing former Sage boss Stephen Kelly as interim CEO.

A spokesperson for WANdisco confirmed that it had asked Miller and Richards to repay their bonuses.

“In line with shareholder sentiment, and as simply the right thing to do, the board of WANdisco confirms that it has written to former executives of the company requesting that bonuses paid for FY 2022 are returned,” the spokesperson told UKTN.

“It is clear that the bonuses paid are significantly at odds with the realities the company has faced.”

UKTN has approached Miller and Richards for comment.