Articles by Nigel Watson

Thought leadership

The healthcare trust: the employee benefit you're probably already paying for - just in the least efficient way

17 March 2026

Thought leadership

The only way is down? Designing employee share plans for falling markets

9 March 2026

Thought leadership

The EMI term extension: why 15 years matters

5 March 2026

Thought leadership

Liquidity is the point – so stop designing infrastructure MIPs as if liquidity is optional

25 February 2026

Thought leadership

Employees have a cost of capital too (don't they?)

10 February 2026

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Malus and clawback: how effective is your policy?

4 February 2026

Thought leadership

How to hedge a promise: the new economics of EBTs

26 January 2026

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Hybrid LTIPs: pricing retention without abandoning performance

21 January 2026

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Uncapped unfair dismissal: why bonus and equity are now central to exit risk

8 January 2026

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When cash stops working. The real triggers for an employee equity plan

5 January 2026

Thought leadership

AIM's new approach to director pay: less "fair and reasonable", more governance

10 December 2025

Thought leadership

Seed to series B: a practical guide for sharing equity

1 December 2025

Thought leadership

Budget 2025. Pay rises, reward and salary sacrifice: navigating fiscal drag

1 December 2025

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Budget day for growth companies. Will EMI finally deliver for the investor generation?

24 November 2025

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Five CSOP failures that can derail a transaction

13 November 2025

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NED equity without strings. Why now?

10 November 2025

Thought leadership

The other tax wrappers: SAYE and SIP as retirement tools (Part 2)

5 November 2025

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Making deferral work: short-term credibility for long-term value

29 October 2025

Thought leadership

UK bank pay reform now in force: 2025 PRA/FCA rules

20 October 2025

Thought leadership

When ownership becomes over exposure: the hidden risk in employee equity (Part 1)

15 October 2025

Thought leadership

Rethinking share plan design: agency in the age of AI

8 October 2025

Thought leadership

Retention by design: re-engineering UK share plans for stickiness

1 October 2025

Thought leadership

From IPO dreams to tender offers: the rise of the startup bonus

25 September 2025

Thought leadership

Dilution: the quiet tax on equity incentives

23 September 2025

Thought leadership

Employee equity: the missing link in London's capital markets recovery

11 September 2025

Thought leadership

The serendipity and strategy of equity incentives

9 September 2025

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CSOPs as shadow shields: how to fix the one-dimensional share plan

3 September 2025

Thought leadership

The real economics of EMI, CSOP and unapproved options

27 August 2025

Thought leadership

Skills-based pay: progress or pandora's box?

12 August 2025

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Making equity matter: real ownership in uncertain times

30 July 2025

Thought leadership

The truth about employee equity: what you’re really getting (and why it’s built that way)

23 July 2025

Thought leadership

BrewDog, preference shares and the illusion of employee equity

18 July 2025

Thought leadership

Space X, secondaries and Pisces: Can the UK catch up on employee liquidity?

17 July 2025

Thought leadership

Incentivising extreme talent: how to reward people who already earn too much

4 July 2025

Thought leadership

From Advice Gap to Investment Gap Filler: FCAs New Plan Could Actually Work

30 June 2025

Thought leadership

Private markets are going retail. So should employee equity

25 June 2025

Thought leadership

You Don't Need an EOT to Have a Voice

20 June 2025

Thought leadership

EBTs: A Tool in Need of Reinvention

19 June 2025

Thought leadership

Exploring Fractional Solutions: Employee Equity

18 June 2025

Thought leadership

LTIPs v MIPs. Is there a winner?

17 June 2025

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The Tragedy (and Triumph) of EMI Options: Why We Keep Saying the Same Thing

16 June 2025

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Who runs an employee-owned company? Some governance observations.

28 May 2025

Thought leadership

Budget 2024

31 October 2024

Thought leadership

Scaleups, employee equity and a new liquidity market

5 September 2023

Thought leadership

Modernising employee share plans - potential new law?

22 November 2022

Thought leadership

CSOP options: HMRC confirms changes to the share class requirement rules

28 September 2022

Thought leadership

UK mini-Budget 2022 (Growth Plan) - CSOP options - changes afoot

23 September 2022

Thought leadership

Paying for a cash bonus? The shadowy world of shadow equity

31 August 2022

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Workers' windfall at KKR-owned company shows private equity shift

13 June 2022

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Diamonds in the rough?

22 July 2021

Thought leadership

Executive reward plans: death or glory?

5 July 2021

Thought leadership

EMI options: are they your dumb reach?

22 June 2021

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Purposeful capitalism and executive pay

7 June 2021

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Management equity: how envious are you?

27 May 2021