WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell faces defeat over pay rise

Media company investors advised to vote against 30% raise for CEO despite firm saying it needs to remain competitive
WPP will vote on whether Sir Martin Sorrell should get a 30% pay rise.
WPP will vote on whether Sir Martin Sorrell should get a 30% pay rise. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Advertising and media company WPP is facing defeat on its pay policy after more advisory bodies recommended voting against a 30% rise for chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell.

US-based advisory body Glass Lewis is believed to be recommending a vote against the remuneration report at the WPP annual meeting on 13 June, just as other influential bodies such as ISS, the Association of British Insurers, Manifest and Pirc are doing.

Pirc is also advising a vote against the chairman, Philip Lader, and the chairman of the remuneration committee, Jeffrey Rosen, to hold them accountable for the "overly excessive" pay deal for Sorrell, who founded WPP more than 25 years ago.

WPP stresses that until last year Sorrell had not had a rise in his £1m salary, now £1.3m, since 2007, and that the company needs to operate on the international stage.

"Concerns lie in excessiveness and the balance between reward and incentive," Pirc said, which is recommending abstention on the re-election of Sorrell to the board.

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