North housebuilder Tulloch Homes Group handed its top-earning boss a £120,000 pay rise in its last full trading year.
The increase took the unnamed director’s remuneration to £455,000, from £333,000 previously.
Chief executive George Fraser is believed to be the beneficiary of the large jump in salary, which came as Inverness-based Tulloch enjoyed a surge in profits.
It is thought an improved bottom-line performance was the main reason behind his bigger pay package.
But while pre-tax profits rose by 13% to £7.7million during the 12 months to June 30, 2017, turnover fell by more than £1.5million to around £43.5million.
Reporting its latest annual figures last week, Tulloch said a “robust” residential property market helped it to maintain its “consistent progress”.
Its CEO added “measured investment”, combined with low interest rates and a relatively stable economy contributed to another positive year for the firm.
Mr Fraser has worked for the company since 1978 and now owns a large stake in the business. He has been Tulloch’s chief executive since 2001.
Founded in 1925, Tulloch has been a major player in Scottish housebuilding for nearly 100 years.
The company built 180 homes during its 2016-17 accounting period, although this was down from more than 200 the year before. Average prices rose by £7,000 to £210,000 last year.
Tulloch was bought by its management from investment banking and private-equity owners three years ago.
It currently employs more than 150 people, mainly in the Highlands, on housing developments spanning Inverness, North Kessock, Conon Bridge, Muir of Ord, Aberdeen, Glenrothes and East Kilbride.
Meanwhile, Tulloch staff have been reaping the rewards of IT training courses delivered by Inverness College UHI.
Computing lecturer Gordon MacPherson visited the housebuilder’s headquarters at Stoneyfield to give a series of one-day courses.
The university previously supported the company’s application for a grant from the Scottish Government’s Flexible Development Workforce Fund.
About 30 members of staff have attended Word, Excel and Powerpoint courses over the past two months.