Former RTÉ finance chief Mari Hurley in line for Ires Reit shares worth €325,000

Former RTÉ finance chief Mari Hurley has been awarded shares valued at close to €325,000 in her new role with landlord Ires Reit, subject to performance targets, some of which could be released early if a takeover of the company is completed.A stock exchange filing from Ireland’s largest residential landlord has also confirmed chief executive Eddie Byrne, who earned a basic salary of €475,000 last year, has also been granted a conditional award of a further €73,384 in shares.Ires Reit said in January Hurley would join the company to replace the outgoing chief financial officer Brian Fagan. She agreed to join the landlord after fewer than 18 months in the chief financial officer role at RTÉ.A new filing by Ires Reit shows Hurley has been granted a conditional award of 299,260 ordinary shares valued at €1.086 in accordance with the company’s long-term incentive plan. READ MOREThe filing indicates Hurley’s annual base salary is approximately €325,000, as the conditional award of shares has been described as equivalent to 100 per cent of her salary.The decision to make these conditional share awards was made in February by Ires Reit’s remuneration committee, but the details have only been announced this week.In July, the national broadcaster’s latest top-earners list showed Hurley was the sixth-highest paid person at RTÉ prior to her exit, earning €276,344 in 2025, including a basic salary of €240,910.The filing said vesting of the near €325,000 of shares by Hurley is subject to “satisfactory attainment of stretching performance metrics over the three-year performance period to year-end 2028”.Ires Reit last week disclosed Barings International has proposed a possible cash offer of €1.386 a share for the company, which would value it at approximately €726.9 million.Ires said its board “would be minded to recommend” a deal if a formal offer were to emerge by a deadline of November 9th set by the Irish Takeover Panel. Following the announcement of the possible takeover offer from Barings International, shares in Ireland’s largest private-sector residential landlord have risen to around €1.30 a share.Completion of a takeover could trigger a partial payout of the conditional shares awarded to Hurley and Byrne. In 2024, Ires Reit said in the event of a change of control of the company, “unvested awards will vest as determined by the board”. It added any awards would take into account performance, and rewards could be reduced to reflect the proportion of the performance period completed, unless the board decides otherwise.Further details in the stock market announcement by Ires Reit also confirmed Byrne has been granted a conditional award of 67,573 ordinary shares valued at €1.086 each. The filing said these shares represented an additional award of 15 per cent of his base salary, which has brought the total for 2026 up to 150 per cent of base. Vesting of these shares is also subject to performance milestones over a three-year period to the end of 2028.