Holiday group vows to heed protest vote over remuneration
A Manchester-based beach holiday specialist said it has noted shareholders’ concerns over remuneration issues, and vowed to take them into account regarding future salary and rewards issues.
On the Beach issued a statement today regarding its February 7 annual general meeting when most resolutions were approved with almost total shareholder approval, apart from the resolution regarding the directors’ remuneration report which received just 78.56% approval.
It related to a salary increase awarded to chief financial officer, Paul Meehan.
In a stock exchange statment today, the group said: “The board understands that the significant minority vote against this resolution was primarily due to the salary increase which was awarded to the chief financial officer for the new financial year.
“There was an active engagement process with shareholders to discuss all of the changes being made to the remuneration arrangements, including this salary increase, ahead of the publication of the annual report and the company’s major shareholders were supportive of the proposed changes.”
It added: “The board believes that the salary increase awarded resulted in an appropriate market positioning as Paul Meehan has become more established in his role and taken on a wider range of responsibilities since his appointment in 2017.”
The business said that, since the major shareholders were supportive of the changes being made, as evidenced by the almost 80% vote in favour of the revised directors’ remuneration policy, there has been no action taken or further engagement with shareholders or concerns raised by them following the AGM in relation to this specific issue, or remuneration more generally.
But it added: “The remuneration committee has, however, noted the concerns raised by some of its shareholders and the proxy organisations as part of the engagement process prior to the AGM.
“The remuneration committee will reflect on this feedback as it considers the remuneration of the executive directors for future years, whilst maintaining focus on alignment with the best interests of shareholders and also with the company’s overarching reward principles.”
In May the group unveiled interim results that showed a 41% surge in sales in the six months to March 31, to £63.5m, while pre-tax profits rose from £10.6m to £11.9m – a 12% improvement.
