The CSOP (Company Share Option Plan):

• The CSOP is a discretionary share option scheme, traditionally used for selected directors, but increasingly used as an all-employee scheme
• Shares options are granted up to an initial market value of £30,000 at no less than market value
• The purchase can be made using the employees’ own funds or through a loan arrangement
• The employee can sell back as many shares as it takes to repay the loan, creating a ‘cashless exercise’
• The options can be exercised free of income tax between the third and tenth anniversaries of the date of grant