Safestore, most unequal firm now less unequal

The most unequal company on the stock market has backed down over plans to give its bosses a double-digit salary rise.

Safestore, which runs self-storage facilities, has the biggest pay gap between its chief executive and rank-and-file staff of any listed firm, according to think-tank, the High Pay Centre.

Last year boss Frederic Vecchioli took home £8.4 million – 313 times more than the average pay of his workers. 

But the board still felt his base salary of £482,000 was ‘conservative’ and ‘not appropriately motivating’ compared to peers – so they suggested an increase of at least ten per cent.

Shareholders objected and, after lengthy talks, Safestore has agreed to a six per cent hike – less than the rise given to the rest of its workforce.

The typical chief executive at a FTSE 100 firm is paid more than 100 times more than its workers earn on average.