Countrywide of the mark as pay rebellion looms
Beleaguered estate agent Countrywide could be the victim of its second shareholder rebellion in two months amid a bitter row over executive pay.
Under-fire chairman Peter Long is facing the wrath of City institutions who are understood to be planning a revolt over a new incentive scheme, according to reports in Sky News.
In a note from influential shareholder advisory the Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), those with a stake in Countrywide were advised to oppose the remuneration policy as well as the implementation of the firm’s Absolute Growth Plan (APG).
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Under the proposed APG policy, Long could receive more than £6m in stock.
The ISS warned that the quantum of awards in the proposed scheme “are considered to be “excessive, calculation of individual awards is not specified, and the scheme is considered to be unduly complex.”
According to the ISS, “no cogent explanation has been provided as to how it is fit for purpose over other less leveraged incentive schemes.”
Sky News also said that the two other board executives – Paul Creffield and Himanshu Raja – could be in store for shares valued at more than £8m and £7m respectively, bringing the potential total cash sum for the three bosses to over £20m.
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Yet despite the alleged anger among shareholders, the proposals are likely to pass through on the back of the rumoured support from private equity group Oaktree, which controls 30 per cent of shares in the estate agent.
Such a cash windfall for executives would come during a particularly testing time for the UK’s largest estate agent group, which has been hit over the last several years by the emergence of online rivals such as Zoopla and Purplebricks.
With brands including Bairstow Eves and Gascoigne Pees, Countrywide shares plunged 60 per cent after making an emergency cash call earlier this month in its second profit warning of the year.