A BITTER family row that split Shepherd Neame cost the brewery more than £800,000, it has been revealed.

Stuart Neame, the former vice-chairman whose shock resignation last October rocked the firm, is to receive a £460,000 pension when he retires at the age of 62 in two years time.

Sheps also picked up a £362,000 legal bill following Mr Neame's decision to take the company to Ashford employment tribunal. He had alleged unfair dismissal because he had blown the whistle on issues including the future direction of the firm and its compliance with legal obligations.

He urged the 70-year old chairman Bobby Neame to step down and the company to sell off its property estate to boost profits.

He lost the claim and the tribunal ruled that he had no reasonable belief that the company had failed, was failing or was likely to fail to comply with its legal obligations.

Shepherd Neame bosses, incensed by the actions of their former senior colleague, hoped to recover some of the costs from Mr Neame. However, the tribunal turned down their application.

The £822,000 bill -- and it could be more, the firm has warned -- did little to dent Shepherd Neame's consistent profits record.

Its latest results showed that Sheps posted its 29th consecutive year of profit growth. Turnover rose by 6.9 per cent to £90.3m, with pre-tax profit, before exceptional items, up 8.7 per cent to £9m.

Jonathan Neame, chief executive, admitted that summer trading had been more difficult this year than last, possibly because of the wetter weather.

He said: "This has been a year of major investment -- in the brewery, in the pubs and in our brands. We have built a strong platform for the future and remain confident that we are in great shape for continued profitable growth."

But the shadow of Stuart Neame still hangs over the company, with his proposal that several controversial resolutions be put to shareholders at the annual meeting on October 29.

But directors rejected the resolutions to "embrace good corporate governance" and "publish each year, their estimates, to the nearest £0.5m, of the profit contributions from brewing, from tenanted pubs, from managed pubs and from property ownership”.

They said they were "inappropriate, costly and potentially damaging to Shepherd Neame and its shareholders."

The company had an "extremely strong" corporate governance record, they said. As an integrated brewer, the company accounted for its operations as a single class of business.

"This resolution would require the business to be presented in a segmented format that is inconsistent not only with the strategy but also with the way that the business is currently operated and managed.

"The creation of segmental accounts would also rely on subjective management judgements and would not alter the reported profitability of the company.

"The Board will, however, consider the need to adopt increased business segmentation under International Financial Reporting and they would urge shareholders to vote against the resolutions."