William Hill board wins knife edge vote over pay
Shareholders in William Hill, Britain’s biggest bookmaker, joined a growing rebellion over executive pay, with almost half voting against a £1.2m retention bonus for the chief executive.
William Hill said on Tuesday 49.9 per cent of proxy votes were against the pay package, and 50.1 per cent for.
Chairman Gareth Davis declared the resolution passed after a show of hands at the AGM. “In bookmakers’ parlance, it was a short head,” Davis told Reuters after the vote.
The non-binding vote reflects a “shareholder spring” over excessive rewards for bosses of Britain’s top companies. The backlash prompted the departure of insurer Aviva’s CEO Andrew Moss.
William Hill’s chief executive Ralph Topping, who has worked for the company since 1973, will be entitled to the bonus in shares if he stays on until the end of next year.
“I am a man of my word and I will not renege on that deal,” Davis told shareholders, referring to the pay agreement which was announced last June when Topping turned 60.
“We have no intention of backing off…the management of William Hill is demonstrably creating value for all shareholders,” Davis told shareholders, noting that proxy vote adviser ISS had been urging a rejection of the deal.