City advisory firm tells Informa shareholders to turn down exec pay rise

Informa boss Lord Carter could face a backlash from shareholders this week over the firm's three-year plan to increase senior exec payouts after an influential advisory firm told investors to vote against pay proposals.

The events and publishing company has proposed an increase in executive directors' annual bonus opportunity from 150 per cent to 175 per cent of salary, as well as a long-term incentive plan from a ceiling of 200 per cent to 325 per cent of basic pay.

Shareholders will vote over company pay at Informa's annual meeting on Friday.

It comes as the company is in the process of finalising a deal to buy event management company UBM for £4bn.

Chief executive of Informa Lord Carter was previously the head of media regulator Ofcom, and has worked as an aide to Gordon Brown.

Read more: Informa's revenues have rocketed after a buying spree

Institutional shareholder services (ISS), the group which advises investors how they should vote at AGMs, recommended opposition to Informa's pay proposals in a report.

The news was initially reported by Sky News, who claimed the company was facing a "fierce investor backlash" over the pay proposals.

In the ISS report, seen by City A.M, the firm said a vote against the remuneration policy was "warranted," adding that: "the timing of such substantial increases, before the merger has been implemented, is questionable."

The report said the larger size of the company following the merger justified "some increase" to senior exec packages, although it also advised: "the magnitude of the increase to variable opportunity is not considered appropriate."

An Informa spokesperson said: "Informa, a group growing at scale and pace, has consulted widely on remuneration.

"Shareholder input has been significant and very supportive. Proxy agencies have been variously supportive, neutral and in one specific case have raised a targeted objection. All this input has been fully considered."

A top five shareholder for the company, Vighnesh Padiachy of Bestinver also voiced his support for the remuneration plan.

"Informa has consulted with us as shareholders and we are very supportive of their approach," he commented.

The firm's 2017 annual report shed further light on the reasoning for the increase to payouts.

It explained that the original remuneration policy had been introduced when Informa was a "very different company.

"It is now a far larger, more international and complex business, even ahead of the proposed addition of UBM plc, and so the committee feels this needs to be reflected in the structure, range and targets within the updated remuneration policy," the report reads.

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