Zegona Communications CEO Eamonn O’Hare received a £129 million ($172.2m) bonus last year, on top of £2m ($2.67m) in annual pay and benefits.

As reported by The Times, the payment made O’Hare the highest-paid chief executive of a London-listed business. 

Zegona specializes in acquiring struggling telecoms groups with the aim of turning those companies around.

Founded in 2015, the company was set up by former Virgin Media executives O’Hare and Robert Samuelson to invest in European telecom opportunities. Samuelson was paid a total of £66m ($88m) in 2024.

The company notably acquired Vodafone’s Spanish unit last year for €5 billion ($5.8bn). Vodafone Spain still operates under the Vodafone name and is led by José Miguel García, who joined when Zegona completed its takeover.

According to Zegona’s annual report, the duo received the payments as part of a management share incentive scheme in the year ending December 2024.

For the full year 2025, ending March 31, 2025, Zegona reported revenues of €3.62bn ($4.19bn).

In the company’s latest earnings, Zegona noted that it has returned Vodafone’s business to growth in Spain. This has included reducing the carrier’s headcount by 28 percent.

Last year, the company had planned to cut close to 1,200 jobs, but settled at 898 after talks with the unions.

“Although we have significantly reduced the size of the workforce, we have implemented a much more ‘fit for purpose’ organization,” Zegona said.

“We appointed José Miguel García as the new CEO, and the executive team was significantly restructured with a greater emphasis on fast decision making, cost reduction, and top-line growth. There is now a greater sense of purpose in the workforce with people starting to act like ‘owner managers’ with a very positive improvement in employee satisfaction.”

Zegona also stated that it has increased its share price from £1.50 ($2) per share to £8 ($10.6), since completing the Vodafone Spain takeover.

One of Zegona’s first acquisitions was that of regional telecoms business Telecable in 2015, which it snapped up for €640m ($742m). A couple of years later, Zegona sold the business to Euskaltel for €701m ($813m).

The Times notes that O’Hare’s payment is one of the biggest in UK history, exceeding the £90m ($120.19m) that Bart Becht, former boss of consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser, was paid through cash and shares in 2010.