Excessive executive pay is under greater scrutiny in Europe as investors rebuff big pay packets for chief executives and take aim at directors who refuse to tackle concern over bumper bonuses.

A report by Georgeson, the shareholder engagement and governance consultancy, said that this year at least one in 10 shareholders opposed pay report resolutions at 53 per cent of annual meetings in Italy, up by 20 per cent compared with 2017.

In the FTSE 100 index of the UK’s biggest companies, challenges were up 39 per cent, while in the Netherlands, 22 per cent of remuneration proposals were opposed by at least one in 10 shareholders, up by close to half compared with 2017.The increase in the number of protests comes as policymakers and the public continue to criticise huge payouts to chief executives. Last week Jeff Fairburn, chief executive of UK housebuilder Persimmon, was forced to leave his job after protracted controversy over a £75m bonus award.

Source: European investors beef up stance over high executive pay | Financial Times