Berkeley, the London-focused housebuilder, looked set to ride out a row over a £294 million bonus scheme for its top bosses at the firm’s annual meeting today.
Early indications showed more than 90% of shareholders backing the firm’s remuneration report, despite opposition from some investor groups.
Berkeley plans to return £1.7 billion to shareholders by 2021, triggering a potential maximum of 19.7 million shares for the builder’s six bosses. At the current share price, up 12p to 1501p, industry veteran Tony Pidgley could get £75 million worth of new stock.
Shareholder advisory firm PIRC previously urged investors to oppose the deal, saying: “Returning money to shareholders, either by dividend payments or share repurchase, remains a fiduciary duty and getting rewarded for doing so is a flawed remuneration strategy.”
The reappointment of Pidgley, the man renowned for his judgment of the market and who once fought off a takeover bid from his own son, was supported by around 98% of investors.
The only blip was on the reappointment of auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers, where around 15% of votes were opposed amid questions over independence due to the extent of its non-audit work for the business. Berkeley said the shortage of new housing in London was providing strong support for house prices.
