Lonrho slumps as shareholder protest follows exit of director
A FIFTH of shareholders at African-focused conglomerate Lonrho have rejected the firm’s remuneration report at yesterday’s AGM, just hours after former government minister Sir Richard Needham resigned from the board in protest at its pay structure.
Sir Richard quit in protest at the decision to increase the salary of executive chairman David Lenigas from £500,000 to £750,000, saying such the deal could see the firm portrayed as “an unacceptable face of capitalism”.
In response 22.9 per cent of investors voted against the proposed pay deal at the AGM.
Needham used his resignation letter to say that Lenigas’ pay rise was “way above the comparator group” for a “FTSE small cap company”.
“Your proposed increases come on the back of large increases in turnover rather than profit and are predicated to some extent on future earnings rather than past performance,” he added.
“I do not believe that to be acceptable.”
Shares in the Lonrho slumped 8.7 per cent to 9.4p.