JD Sports bracing for bruising investor rebellion after it was slammed for handing ‘inappropriate’ special bonuses to chairman Peter Cowgill
JD Sports is bracing for a bruising investor rebellion after it was slammed for handing ‘inappropriate’ special bonuses to chairman Peter Cowgill.
Glass Lewis, an influential shareholder advisory group, said JD Sports’ backers should vote against its pay policy.
Cowgill took home £4.3m in bonuses last year – pocketing £5m in total even after he cut his salary by 75 per cent for several months.
Rebellion: Glass Lewis said JD Sports’ backers should vote against its pay policy
A large chunk of this was from ‘special’ bonuses that were approved in 2019 for ‘exceptional past performance’. Glass Lewis believes the company should have either slashed or scrapped bonus awards.
The 68-year-old’s bumper pay packet came despite it taking £86m in furlough support and £38m in business rates relief.
Glass Lewis also recommended investors vote down Cowgill’s re-election to the board at the annual meeting on July 1.
Cowgill has run the company and chaired the board for 17 years – far longer than official guidance suggests.