Fashion retailer Boohoo in £1m executive pay row

Online retailer Boohoo expects to see sales growth of 20% in the first quarter. Credit: Getty.
Online retailer Boohoo expects to see sales growth of 20% in the first quarter. Credit: Getty.

Online retailer Boohoo (BOO.L) is the latest company to face a showdown with shareholders over its proposed executive payout.

The fast-fashion firm is set to award a £1m ($1.2m) payout to chief executive John Lyttle and salary increases of up to 30% to other senior executives.

But advisory group ISS is recommending shareholders vote against the pay policy at the annual meeting on Friday.

ISS claim there is a lack of explanation for the executive payout or wage rises.

The same independent advisory group recommended investors did not pass a proposal for a 24% pension contribution rate for Morrisons (MRW.L) chief executives last month.

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More than a third of investors voted against the supermarket's pay policy which was passed at the annual shareholder meeting on June 11.

Boohoo is facing a similar storm over Lyttle's payout with the former Primark executive also in line for a £50m payout if the company's market capitalisation rises to £6bn by March 2024, reports The Times.

The brand has successfully managed the coronavirus outbreak with shares rising 22% this year due to investors expecting an acceleration in online sales. Sales are expected to have grown by 20% in the first quarter of 2020 taking Boohoo's market value to £4.6bn.

Lyttle's £1m award bonus is to compensate him for payments he forfeited after leaving Primark, the company told The Times. It added that salary increases for other senior execs were benchmarked against similar size companies.

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