Rows over boardroom pay will flare up next week when shareholders express fury at bonuses and salary rises handed to executives during the Covid-19 crisis.
Foxtons, British American Tobacco and Domino’s Pizza are at risk of revolts at their annual meetings. Drax, the power generator, faces criticism over the lack of women on its board.
The stage has been set for a fractious voting season after warnings from investors that they expect restraint at a time when Rishi Sunak has run up a £352 billion pandemic repair bill. The chancellor has provided £57.7 billion of furlough support and a £10 billion business rates holiday.
The Investment Association, a group of 250 fund managers, said it was on alert. Big names such as Fidelity International and Legal & General Investment Management also spoke out.
Voting advisory agencies Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis often indicate where contentions are brewing.
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At Foxtons, the agencies advise voting against pay deals at Thursday’s meeting. The estate agent used furlough and business rates relief, yet paid bonuses to executives, including boss Nic Budden, 53, whose total pay was £1.6 million. Foxtons — which said his cash pay had fallen — said it was grateful for the government support, “which we used for as short a period as possible but entirely as it was intended”.
Investors are advised to vote against pay at BAT, after registering a protest as last year’s meeting over pay rises for the new chief executive Jack Bowles, 57. BAT said afterwards that it had “engaged with shareholders to understand their views in shaping decisions for 2021”.
Both agencies recommend votes against pay deals at Domino’s Pizza. New boss Dominic Paul’s pay is 41 per cent higher than his predecessor’s. “To attract the best candidates we needed to offer a more competitive package,” the chain said.
Drax — where Glass Lewis advises voting against chairman Philip Cox, 69 — said it was committed to improving gender diversity. The number of women on its board hit 28 per cent, below the 33 per cent minimum.
