William Hill Boss Pay Deal Scrapes Through As Investors Protest
May 08 2012 - 8:53AM
Dow Jones News
U.K. bookmaker William Hill PLC (WMH.LN) Tuesday became the
latest company to face the threat of a shareholder rebellion as
investors voiced serious concerns over plans to award a GBP1.2
million "retention bonus" to its chief executive.
Just under 50% of shareholders opposed the resolution to award
the bonus to Ralph Topping, but there was a sufficient number of
votes to carry the proposal, which also sees Topping receive an
8.3% pay rise.
"Whilst we recognize that some shareholders are not supportive
of this one-off agreement, we believe that there is widespread
appreciation of the very significant contribution of Ralph Topping
to the success of William Hill," said Chairman Gareth Davis.
The backlash adds to the gathering storm of shareholder
discontent over the perception of excessive boardroom pay. Earlier
Tuesday, Andrew Moss, chief executive of U.K. insurance group Aviva
PLC (AV.LN), announced his resignation after shareholders rejected
a proposed GBP2.69 million pay packet.
Last week, the chief executives of AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) and
Trinity Mirror (TNI.LN) also quit after investors challenged their
pay.
Topping, who joined William Hill nearly 40 years ago and became
chief executive in 2008, will now receive annual pay in excess of
GBP1.7 million, while the retention fee means he will stay at the
company until at least December 2013.
The bookmaker's shares have risen 32% since the start of the
year as it has improved its online betting facilities, while net
revenue increased 12% in the first quarter.
At 1218 GMT, William Hill shares were down 4.8 pence, or 1.8%,
at 267.1 pence.
-By Peter Evans, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9308;
peter.evans@dowjones.com
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