Watches of Switzerland staff given £1,000 bonus following London IPO

Staff from the Watches of Switzerland Group at stores across the UK and US have been given a £1,000 bonus as a thank you following the company’s float on the London Stock Exchange.

Around 2,500 employees from the group’s Mappin and Webb, Goldsmiths and its eponymous Watches of Switzerland stores have been given the bonus, which also includes around 500 members of staff from its Leicestershire HQ.

Watches of Switzerland chief executive, Brian Duffy, told BusinessLive: “We’re now on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. There has been a great response to what we’ve done from our teams, so we gave them an unexpected bonus of £1,000 each – or $1,300 for those in the US.

“That recognised the huge contribution every one of them made to the flotation, and we’ve had dozens and dozens of emails since saying how much they appreciated it. I really believe in the business. I love the business and our teams and the great job they do.”

The recent stock floatation values the company at around £650m.