Darty 'error' on CEO pay prompts rebellion

Up to 50pc of shareholders are expected to vote against the Anglo-French retailer’s remuneration report at Thursday’s Annual General Meeting.

Shareholders are angry after the company admitted last month that a €775,000 (£620,000) share award made to chief executive Thierry Falque-Pierrotin was not subject to performance criteria as had been stated in the 2009 annual report.

The shares automatically vested in January this year after Mr Falque-Pierrotin had completed three years with the company.

The potential shareholder revolt comes as one of the UK’s largest fund managers Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) revealed the part it played in the so called “shareholder spring”.

The £383bn fund manager voted against 77 remuneration reports in the first half of the year, compared with 125 reports in the whole of 2011. LGIM revealed it managed to change 12 companies’ remuneration reports following consultation. These included Land Securities and Sainsbury where changes were made to the bonus schemes being put forward by remuneration committees.

Although LGIM said it expected fewer shareholder revolts next year it warned investor pressure would not go away. The company also said it intends to remain a “chief nagger” on issues such as executive pay, boardroom diversity and auditor independence. 

Source  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9539842/Darty-error-on-CEO-pay-prompts-rebellion.html