Who are the rebels? May 3, 2012 BEFORE yesterday only three FTSE 100 firms had seen their remuneration reports rejected in the nine years since shareholders gained the right to vote on such matters. But the rebellion by Aviva shareholders shows the growing tendency for major institutional investors to take an interest in executive pay. The identity of voters was secret, yet [...]
Shareholder revolts don’t get much worse than this May 3, 2012 IT DOESN’T get much bigger than this. Fifty-nine per cent of shareholders refused to back Aviva’s remuneration report yesterday, either by voting against it (50 per cent) or abstaining (nine per cent). Of those who cast a ballot, 54 per cent voted against. To illustrate how bad this is for Aviva, we need to put [...]
SHARE PRICE FALLS THAT GOT INVESTORS WORRIED May 3, 2012 TRINITY MIRROR Shares have plunged more than 90 per cent in the 10 years since Sly Bailey took charge of the company. The group owns the Daily Mirror plus more than 100 regional newspapers – but has a market cap of just £82m. AVIVA Investors are angry because the insurer’s shares have fallen 58 per [...]
BAFTA’S PICCADILLY HEADQUARTERS FOR SALE May 2, 2012 BAFTA’S landmark headquarters on Piccadilly are to be put up for sale for £76m. Aviva Investors Property Trust has instructed property consultancy Knight Frank to sell the 81,000 square foot building known as Princes House, which is also home to the Princes Arcade, the Tramp nightclub, a screening room, casino and three-storey town house.
FTSE edges up as Lloyds gains May 1, 2012 The FTSE 100 clawed back some lost ground in early trading with Lloyds among the top gainers after quarterly results that matched forecasts. London’s blue-chip index ended April in negative territory yesterday – its second consecutive monthly loss – as concerns rose over Spain’s economy and political tensions in Europe took their toll. Meanwhile UK [...]
Investors force Aviva boss to reject pay rise April 30, 2012 ACTIVIST shareholders yesterday claimed victory after the boss of Britain’s second biggest insurer was forced into a humiliating climbdown on the size of his pay packet. Andrew Moss, chief executive of Aviva, decided to waive his 2012 salary increase as part of a review of the firm’s executive pay policy, launched in response to pressure [...]
Executives beware the winds of shareholder activism April 30, 2012 BARELY a day goes by without another incidence of shareholder activism. Investors in blue chip firms ranging from hedge funds to pharmaceuticals have been flexing their muscles with remarkable frequency recently, expressing their displeasure on executive pay and strategic direction. It is debatable how much of this is to do with policy changes. In the [...]
SHAREHOLDERS STEP UP THE PRESSURE April 30, 2012 Today – Man Group Man Group chief executive Peter Clarke will face pressure from investors at the hedge fund’s AGM to improve performance or step down. The firm’s share price has fallen by almost 60 per cent since September last year. Yesterday – Aviva Chief executive Andrew Moss waived a £46,000 pay rise after criticism [...]
Aviva boss waives pay rise April 30, 2012 The chief executive of insurer Aviva, Andrew Moss, has waived his 2012 salary increase as part of a review of its executive pay policy launched in response to pressure from shareholders. The review will look at whether senior executives’ pay is justified by shareholder returns, and will also examine how much Aviva compensates executives who [...]
Trinity Mirror shareholders still unimpressed as meeting looms April 29, 2012 SLY Bailey faces an investor rebellion over changes to her pay packet at Trinity Mirror’s annual general meeting next week. Following shareholder unrest, the publisher of the Daily Mirror proposed a £500,000 cut to Bailey’s short-term cash and stock bonuses. But the Trinity Mirror chief executive will be eligible to receive 144 per cent of [...]