Hand, who resigned in May last year, was awarded a pay-off of £662,396. He also earned £165,000 in pay and benefits and the company paid £265,054 to the taxman to cover an income tax liability which arose from exercising share options, bringing the total to over £1m.
Hand's foray into the US market is reported to have cost the company £545m, which it had to write off when it sold the company to Primedia at a massive loss.
Hand is widely blamed for forcing the company to regroup after its share price plunged to as low as 768p last May, down from a high of 1221p during the previous year.
Chairman Robin Miller, who was chief executive of the company for a decade before Hand took over, returned to the post temporarily to restore the company back to its former health.
Miller is hoping to step down from the post this summer. Finance director Gary Hughes and operations chief Tom Maloney are believed to be the frontrunners in the race to succeed him.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
