Pendragon to face shareholder mutiny after Hedin Group hits out over executive pay
Swedish car seller Hedin Group has vowed to vote down Pendragon’s executive pay policy, after slamming the UK’s second biggest car dealer over its plans to hand out bumper bonuses to its board.
The Swedish group – which is currently Pendragon’s largest shareholder – hit out at the UK car seller over its decision to pay its chief executive, William Berman, an “astonishing” pay packet worth £3.4m last year.
The firm said the sums paid out to Berman had been “excessive and unwarranted,” as it berated the Nottingham car seller for its decision to hand out hundreds of thousands in bonuses, while still refusing to pay back £64m in Covid-related government support.
The revolt comes after Pendragon handed out a platter of bumper bonuses to its senior executive team in giving Berman an £825,000 bonus, after paying finance chief Mark Willis and chief operating officer Martin Casha bonuses worth £454,000 and £461,000 respectively.
The Swedish car seller is now set to lead a shareholder mutiny at Pendragon’s June AGM, after vowing to vote against the UK firm’s board, as it noted that this year’s AGM “will be the third year in row significant numbers of shareholders have opposed Pendragon remuneration reports”.
Hedin – which owns a 27.1 per cent stake in Pendragon – also said it would seek to block the chair of Pendragon’s remuneration committee from taking up the role, as it suggested the Board should use the “significant powers” it has over remuneration to address shareholders concerns.
The group noted that “supply shortages” during the pandemic has seen the entire automobile sector generate “abnormal levels of profitability,” as the Swedish firm suggested Pendragon’s improved profitability “has been far from unique.”
A spokesperson for Pendragon said: “Pendragon conducts its conversations with shareholders in private and believes this to be the most constructive way to engage.”
A spokesperson for Pendragon said: “Pendragon conducts its conversations with shareholders in private and believes this to be the most constructive way to engage.”