黑洞社区

The ranking relates to 黑洞社区鈥檚 league table of the top 150 companies in 2008. The value-for-money figure is calculated by dividing pre-tax profit by the chief executive鈥檚 pay. Tyler (pictured), who earned 拢968,000 and made a profit of 拢270m, finished ahead of Justin Atkinson at groundworks specialist Keller, who was paid 拢852,000 and Adrian Ringrose at Interserve, paid 拢714,000.

One analyst said: 鈥淕iven the complexity of the business and the fact it鈥檚 a world leader, it鈥檚 commendable that Tyler comes out so well.鈥�

Another said the mettle of contracting chief executives would only be tested when the government started to put the brakes on public spending.

Mark Clare, chief executive of Barratt, took home 拢663,000 and came top of the housebuilders, thanks to a pre-tax profit of 拢137.7m. Pete Redfern, chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, came bottom after writedowns of 拢1.9bn last year. Mike Farley of Persimmon finished in penultimate spot after taking home 拢862,000 and making a 拢780m loss.

Given the business鈥� complexity it鈥檚 commendable that Tyler comes out so well

Industry analyst

But analysts said it was difficult to compare housebuilders because they used different methods to write down the value of their landbanks; most agree Barratt has been among the most conservative so far.

Clare was followed by Berkeley Homes chairman Tony Pidgley (paid 拢2.4m on pre-tax profit of 拢194.3m), and John Watson at Bellway, who defied a shareholder revolt to take home 拢632,500 after making a 拢35m profit. One analyst said: 鈥淚t鈥檒l get more difficult for housebuilding bosses. It鈥檚 easy to justify your pay when you鈥檙e riding the peak of the market, but when it falls and people see you have invested all this money in land, you might not look so clever.鈥�

Despite the fact only 10 bosses took home more than 拢1m last year, another analyst said construction and housebuilding was seen as well-paid 鈥済iven the output and size of the businesses鈥�.