Advertising tycoon Sir Martin Sorrell braced for new pay storm at marketing firm S4 Capital
Martin Sorrell is facing a fresh headache amid a brewing pay revolt at his marketing firm S4 Capital.
Shareholder advisory group Glass Lewis has told investors to oppose S4’s pay policy at its annual general meeting on Thursday next week.
Glass Lewis said executives could receive ‘practically unlimited’ pay.
Sir Martin Sorrell (pictured at a drink party with influencer Nicky Spielberg in West Hollywood) is facing a brewing pay revolt at his marketing firm S4 Capital
It noted payouts were based on the share price and shareholder returns, which ‘may be largely influenced by external market forces’ rather than the performance of the business.
‘We believe that this plan could lead to extremely high payouts to executives based in large part on general economic factors outside management’s control,’ Glass Lewis said.
‘We do not believe that this [pay] policy is supportable at this time.’
A revolt would be another issue for Sorrell to contend with when he faces investors after a brutal few months. In March, the share price crashed after its auditor PwC refused to sign off its accounts.
The full-year results were delayed and finally published in May. Shares are down nearly 50 per cent this year.