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Directors' remuneration report

Remuneration principles

The Remuneration Committee believes that to be effective, remuneration policy must be based on sound, clear principles which are well understood and recognise the long term interests of the Group, its shareholders and employees. The Remuneration Committee, after consultation with shareholders, formally adopted the following six principles which have been the basis for all remuneration decisions since 2002:

1. (i)

   Signet's primary business objective is to deliver results which should consistently outperform the average of the industry sector.

2. (ii)

   It is recognised that to consistently deliver above industry average performance Signet will need to retain, and where necessary attract, executives of well above industry average ability and leadership potential.

3. (iii)

   It is also recognised that to retain, or recruit, senior executives of this calibre, the Group will be required to provide above industry average remuneration.

4. (iv)

   Therefore, Signet's executive directors and other senior executives should be remunerated in a range beginning with the 51st and ending with the 75th percentiles of industry total remuneration, based on relevant surveys of relevant companies appropriate to the executive's position and geographic location. The remuneration of each executive within this range will be based on performance (both of the Group and the individual), potential (i.e. the executive's potential to grow in responsibility and performance), and scarcity (i.e. the availability of candidates to replace the executive should he/she leave the Group).

5. (v)

   Total remuneration for executive directors and other senior executives should be highly geared towards performance with the proportion of "at risk" pay increasing according to: a) the level of performance achieved, and b) the seniority of the executives and their ability to influence results. Excluding pension contributions, the provision of a company car and private health insurance, there should only be one element of guaranteed remuneration: base salary. The performance related portion of total remuneration should separately reward short term performance (through the annual bonus) and long term performance (through share options and Long Term Incentive Plan Awards).

6. (vi)

   Surveys will be undertaken on a regular basis to ensure that total remuneration packages remain in the percentile range described in (iv) above. Recognising that more than 70% of the Group's sales and profits are generated in the US and that significant remuneration differences exist between the US and the UK markets, separate surveys are conducted in each country.