The pay for the man at the top of advertising group WPP (LON:WPP) Sir Martin Sorrell was the subject of controversy once again - as more than 20% of investors failed to back his $43mln renumeration packet at the group's AGM.
It emerged 77.7% of investors backed his pay, while 19.4% voted against it. 2.7% voters abstained seen as a protest in itself. Last year nearly 30% of investors did not back the remuneration report, but once again he has survived the revolt.
Sorrell is the highet paid boss of a British public company.
Earlier, WPP hailed a strong UK performance for higher revenues, but said there appeared to be little prospect of a step-change in economic growth.
WPP, which owns City PR agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather and Buchanan, said the mature British market was its strongest region in the second quarter.
UK net sales rose 10.3% on a constant currency basis and were up 3.2% like-for-like. The group's media investment management and direct, digital and interactive businesses performed strongly, as in the first quarter, partly offset by its branding & identity operations.
Western Continental Europe, which slowed slightly in the final quarter of 2014, improved in the first three months of 2015. In North America, constant currency and like-for-like revenue rose 4.2%, slightly slower than in the first quarter.
Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa & the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe, softened slightly in April, but were still at high levels of absolute growth.
The group, headed by chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell, said it was pleased by its performance in the first four months of the new financial year, as worldwide GDP growth, both nominal and real, seemed to have slowed in the second half of last year and into the new year.
"However, there seem to be little, if any, reasons for an upside breakout from the current levels of real or nominal GDP growth," WPP said. Its shares fell 15p or 1% to 1472p.