Fifth of Ocado shareholders revolt over chief executive’s reward package

In a vote at the online grocery and technology group’s AGM yesterday, nearly 20% of shareholders opposed the plan. It entitles Steiner to as much as 1,800% of his £824,570 base salary if Ocado’s share price reaches £29.69 in three years and other performance targets are met.

The proposal had drawn criticism from investor advisory groups who had described the etailer’s remuneration practices as “egregious”.

However, in Ocado’s annual report, remuneration committee chair Julie Southern maintained that the new plan “offers substantial comparative reward for transformational performance while migrating to a structure that will be more motivating and retentive for executives”.

Should the share price target not be met, but other performance and total shareholder return goals are achieved, then Steiner would be entitled to an award worth 600% of his base salary.

Last month, Ocado’s retail business – a joint venture with Marks & Spencer –  reported that it had made a “strong start” to the new financial year as quarterly retail revenue advanced 10.6% year on year to £645.3m and the average basket value increased.