HIPGNOSIS Songs Fund has awarded directors an extra £250,000 each to compensate for the increased workload required to complete the £1.2bn sale of the music rights company.

The sum is more than double the annual fees of the five directors, which range between £83,000 and £95,000, including chairman Robert Naylor.

If the sale goes through, they are all expected to step down from the fund.

A spokeswoman for Hipgnosis Songs Fund said: "The non-executive directors of Hipgnosis Songs Fund are being paid additional fees to reflect the significant amount of additional time they have needed to devote to their roles."

In June, private equity giant Blackstone upped a previous offer for Hipgnosis Songs Fund by $0.01 (less than a penny) to $1.31 (103p) in an attempt to woo shareholders.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper