UK Edition
Shareholders rebel against Segro boss's £100,000 pay rise
Segro has become the latest company to be hit by a high pay backlash after an investor rebellion against plans to boost the salary of the FTSE 100 warehouse giant's boss.
About 47pc of shareholders voted against the company’s pay report after the influential advisory groups ISS and Glass Lewis raised concerns about the increase, which will raise chief executive David Sleath’s base salary by more than £100,000 over two years.
A binding vote on the company’s pay policy passed comfortably but faced opposition from about 17pc of shareholders. A similar proportion also voted against the re-election of Chris Fisher, Martin Moore and Doug Webb, who served on its remuneration committee last year.
Glass Lewis had said it viewed fixed pay rises “with skepticism” as they were not directly linked to a company’s financials and “may serve as a crutch when performance has fallen below expectations”.
The pay increase was paired with a cut in pension contributions, but the advisory group warned it would also push up the value of Mr Sleath’s long-term incentive payouts, which are based on a multiple of his salary.
He was paid £3.6m last year, including his £633,000 salary, £845,000 bonus and £1.9m through a long-term incentive scheme.
Formerly known as Slough Estates, Segro has grown rapidly in recent years as the rise in online shopping has spurred a boom in demand for warehouse space. It is now the UK's most valuable listed property company worth almost £7.3bn.
A spokesman said Segro would “continue to engage with shareholders to ensure their views are fully understood and considered”.
They added: “While Segro has delivered market-leading shareholder returns and become an established constituent of the FTSE 100, the chief executive’s fixed pay and total pay opportunity will remain below mid-market levels.”
Separately, investors have been urged to rebel against pay at shopping centre landlord Hammerson.
ISS criticised the board’s failure to take into account a 40pc slide in the share price when handing out stock awards through its long-term incentive plan last year.
Bosses went without their annual bonuses after falling short on profit targets, but were given tens of thousands more shares than the previous year because of the share price fall.
A spokesman said Hammerson’s remuneration committee was reviewing its policies and would present a new scheme to shareholders next year.
"The chief executive and chief financial officer elected not to take a bonus for 2018 in recognition of the challenging year the business experienced and we believe we are the only FTSE 350 real estate company to have taken this position," he added.