A Glasgow City Council-owned firm that runs top entertainment venues paid its most senior staff bonuses of nearly £160,000 last year.

The amount, paid to the chief executive and directors at the Scottish Event Campus Ltd, has almost doubled from the amount handed out in the previous year.

Scottish Labour MSP James Kelly told The Herald: “Regular attendees at events at the SEC will be puzzled as to why bonuses paid to bosses have nearly doubled. As the majority shareholder in the SEC, the SNP City Council have questions to answer on why bonus payments have surged without explanation.”

The SEC promotes international conferences and events, and operates venues including the SSE Hydro and the Armadillo. Performers at venues this year include Mark Knopfler, Take That, Mrs Brown’s Boys, Westlife and Kiss.

Although it is a firm, the SEC's principal shareholder is the local council, which owns over 90% of the shares.

According to the council’s accounts from 2017/18, the top three figures at the SEC enjoyed bonuses of £82,744.

Peter Duthie, the chief executive, topped up his £175,099 salary with a bonus of £35,020 which, on top of taxable allowances and expenses, took his remuneration to £228,484.

Billy McFadyen, the corporate services and finance director, received a £25,831 bonus as part of an overall package worth £168,293.

And Daniel Thurlow, the SEC exhibitions sales director, earned a £21,893 on top of a £121,627 salary.

However, the council’s latest “pre audit” accounts from 2018/19 show that the bonus payments increased from £82,744 to £156,453.

The jump was caused by bonuses being paid to six senior figures, rather than three, which included director of operations Mark Laidlaw (£23,461), director of people and technology Gayle Shepherd (£22,843) and director of conference sales Kathleen Warden (£22,843).

Duthie’s remuneration increased over the twelve months from £228,484 to £251,464, which was primarily caused by a £16,922 payment in lieu of “employer pension contributions”. His bonus jumped from £25,831 to £35,895.

McFadyen’s overall package rose from £168,293 to £191,492, part of which was down to an £18,534 payment in lieu of a pension contribution.

Pre-tax profits for SEC Ltd increased from £1.6m to £2.2m over the same period. No dividend was paid to the council.

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According to the same accounts, council chief executive Annemarie O’Donnell’s remuneration fell from £197,215 to £186,219.

Regarding the council and its arms-length firms, the accounts show that one exit package of between £200,000 - £250,000 was paid in 2018/19.

A spokesperson for SEC Ltd said: “Any bonuses are a result of pre-determined targets which are reviewed annually and set and approved by the Remuneration Committee and the Board of Directors, both of which are made up of members of the council and the private sector.

“The bonuses paid were due another exceptional year’s performance for the Company in which records were set in every sector of the business. Payments made to three more individuals than the previous year were reported in the accounts.

“It is agreed with Glasgow City Council and our private sector shareholders that profits should at this time be reinvested into the SEC’s facilities to ensure we can continue to be successful in attracting major conferences, exhibitions and events to Glasgow, in what is a highly competitive marketplace.

“The past year has been unprecedented and the payments are recognition of an incredibly strong executive team who with the wider company have helped deliver considerable economic impact to Glasgow, Scotland and the wider UK.”