Anger: Some 10% of Centrica shareholders opposed the £8.2m pay package handed to chief exec Chris O’Shea
British Gas owner Centrica has been given a slap on the wrist by investors over an £8.2million payday for its boss.
Some 10 per cent of shareholders yesterday opposed the package handed to chief executive Chris O’Shea in 2023 – a near-£4million increase on the previous year.
Most of the pay increase came from O’Shea’s share price-linked bonus. The energy giant’s stock rose as household gas and electricity bills soared.
O’Shea last month admitted there was ‘inequality in society’ and he was ‘fortunate’ to make millions of pounds a year.
He told MPs on the energy and net zero committee: ‘I understand people are struggling.’
O’Shea previously said his £4.5million pay package for 2022 was a ‘huge amount’ that was ‘unjustifiable’.
He is the latest boss of a British firm to net a huge pay rise amid debate over whether FTSE 100 chief executives are underpaid compared to American peers.
Packages for leaders at Smith and Nephew, Ocado, London Stock Exchange Group and AstraZeneca have raised investors’ hackles.
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