Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) investors have been advised to vote against a potentially excessive £15 million bonus scheme for boss Tim Steiner.
Influential proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has raised "material concerns" about the bonus and other remuneration ahead of the vote at its annual shareholder meeting on 29 April.
ISS said the potential bonus was "materially above market norms" and "not in line with UK market standards and investor expectations", according to a report in The Times.
As part of regular reports from the proxy adviser sent to institutional investors, Ocado's remuneration, in particular a planned incentive scheme, was flagged as a "high concern".
It suggested pay was unreasonable, "exacerbated by the shareholder experience, with no dividend and a general decline in the company’s share price over the past few years".
Ocado shares have slumped over 80% from all-time highs close to £30 seen in the pandemic, when online grocery ordering spiked, to below £4 recently.
Under the planned incentive scheme, Steiner would be able to receive an award worth 600% of his base salary, or almost £5 million, even if targets for total shareholder returns and other performance measures are met but the share price goal is missed.
At the top end, the Goldman Sachs alumni could receive a bonus of as much as 1,800% of his £824,570 base salary if the share price reaches £29.69 in three years’ time and other performance targets are met.
Ocado's remuneration committee said the pay package reflected Steiner’s "unique position" as a founder of the company and his "longer-term focus and strategic vision".