Nearly a third of Ocado investors voted against the business’ plans for a pay rise and £88m bonus payout for its top brass.

The percentage of Ocado shareholders that voted against the grocer’s remuneration package rose to 29.75%, compared with 24% the previous year, with firms including BlackRock and Royal London Asset Management among those opposing the scheme.

Blackrock said it voted against the scheme due to “concerns about the suitability of [the bonuses], taking into account both their structure and their size”.

Investment advisory groups including Pirc, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services advised investors to vote against Ocado’s remuneration package.

Ocado dismissed the growing backlash against its executive payout, which included a £54m bonus for boss Tim Steiner.

The online retailer’s remuneration committee pointed to previous years’ scheme, which paid out nearly £90m to top-performing managers, and said the business “does not believe that there is a basis on which to seek to change the outcome”.

The committee also said it believed “the salary rises to the executive directors were fair and reflected the substantial change in the complexity of their roles” given the business’ growing portfolio of international clients which have bought Ocado’s grocery technology.

 

 

Topics