RE: Another employee15 Jun 2021 10:22
It specifically says employee and not director.
The tax on an exercise will be 10% assuming it's been done correctly, as I've mentioned before, I was previously an employee and then a director of an LSE listed software business. I have exercised many options myself. Prior to being a director of the business (I was one of the founding members) I screwed it up twice exercising too early, I had no idea at all that major acquisitions were going to be announced within days of me doing it and my CEO who was a personal friend could not tell me not to exercise as that would have been insider trading.
Personally I did this on both occasions to fund house purchases, if this is motivation for exercising now, due to stamp duty rates being reduced it would be perfect timing and certainly understandable.
Following those exercises I was promoted to a board director...it was then much much harder for me to exercise shares. I never read much in to these exercises of options, everyone has personal motivations and those are rarely share price 'potential' related...if they were they'd just hang on to them forever.