Her package included a salary of £216,670 and a bonus of £270,000 – the maximum offered under the senior executive bonus scheme which can pay out up to 125% of salary.

The rest of her pay packet covered pension contributions and other benefits.

Mark Whiteling, who joined as finance director a month later on 1 October, earned £101,250 and a maximum bonus payout of £126,562 taking his total package including total taxable benefits and pension payments to £246,430 over three months.

White’s salary in 2018 will be £680,000, while Whiteling’s will be £405,000.

The latest annual report also reveals that former chief executive Adrian Ringrose was paid £459,173 in the year to the end of August.

White’s personal bonus targets for the last part of 2017 included delivering a recovery plan involving reorganisation of the business, showing leadership and cementing relationships with key stakeholders.

The final and third target included assessing the present leadership team, identifying skills gaps and starting recruitment with a view to strengthening and rebuilding a top team.

On all three measures she met all targets in full. The targets were underpinned by a requirement to achieve a threshold level of performance including no breach of the group’s committed banking facilities.

The Remuneration Committee report said its general view was that the chief executive officer and chief financial officer’s performance had been exceptional in challenging circumstances for the period of 2017 that they were employed, bonuses were payable at 100% of the pro-rata maximum for the chief executive officer and chief financial officer respectively (42% and 31% of salary).