GVC Holdings PLC (LON:GVC) chief executive Kenny Alexander has offered to take a £150,000 pay cut to avoid a shareholder revolt at next week’s annual meeting.
The company, which owns bookmakers Ladbrokes and Coral, said Alexander has volunteered to have his basic salary reduced to £800,000 from £950,000 after listening to feedback from investors.
The group is hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s shareholder rebellion when 44% of investors voted against pay packages awarded to its top executives.
Alexander’s total remuneration for the latest financial year was £19.1mln due to a “legacy award” linked to GVC’s acquisition of online gaming firm bwin.party in 2015.
GVC has said these payments have now been made in full and won’t be repeated but the scale of successive awards was expected to see the company knock heads with investors at its annual meeting in Gibraltar on Monday.
In a statement on Thursday, the company sought to address any remaining concerns among investors by saying Alexander would take a £150,000 cut in his basic pay.
“After consulting with GVC’s chairman and remuneration committee chair, GVC’s chief executive officer has volunteered to reduce his annual salary from £950,000 to £800,000,” the company said.
“This offer was made in light of recent shareholder and proxy adviser feedback on GVC’s 2018 remuneration report and on our remuneration committee chair. This change will take effect from 1 June 2019.”