Burberry chief executive Christopher Bailey’s pay sinks to £8m
Burberry chief executive Christopher Bailey earned £7.9m last year, including a £1m salary, a £1.7m bonus and £424,000 in allowances and benefits, the company said today.
The remuneration package of Bailey – who is notoriously shy of the financial media – was subject to a shareholder revolt at the company's annual general meeting last year, when 52 per cent voted against the directors' remuneration report. Although it wasn't disclosed at the time because he wasn't a director, Bailey's total salary including bonuses was thought to be in the region of £10.3m.
This time around, Bailey's total pay package represents 0.5 per cent of total shareholder returns for the full year.
Perhaps in anticipation of further trouble this time around, Burberry today repeated its explanation that it had offered Bailey one million extra shares after he was approached by a rival fashion house in 2013. He was also offered a cash allowance of £440,000 "[which] was specifically chosen as a method of increasing Christopher Bailey's fixed remuneration without increasing other costs to Burberry".
"Put simply, the market value for his creative talents was far in excess of what he was earning," it said.
Bailey also has 350,000 shares, awarded to him in 2010 but worth £5.8m at today's share price, which are due to vest before the company's annual general meeting (AGM) next month.
"[Bailey] has committed to retain 50 per cent of these to achieve his shareholding guideline and demonstrate his commitment to Burberry and alignment with his shareholders," the company said.
The annual report showed Bailey's predecessor, Angela Ahrendts, who moved to Apple in spring 2014, was paid £157,000 in the year to March, including £89,000 in salary and £41,000 in allowances (£1,000 of which was a car allowance). Bailey's pay deal for 2014/15 was less than the £10.9m deal awarded to Ahrendts in 2013/14.