Tesco pay revolt grows

A fourth corporate governance lobbying group has recommended that shareholders vote against Tesco directors' remuneration at next month's annual meeting. Pensions Investment and Research Consultants says the UK's biggest retailer paid its full-time directors too much last year and warns the executives could get even bigger rewards in the future: "Combined awards under the annual bonus and long-term incentives are considered excessive in the year under review and considered highly excessive on a potential basis." Pirc's objections come on top of similar concerns voiced by America's CtW Investment Group , which has written to Tesco shareholders urging them to take a stand against "excessive pay". Two other advisory groups, RiskMetrics and Manifest, have also raised the red flag over Tesco's top pay schemes. Last year chief executive Sir Terry Leahy received some £10m in pay and cheap or free shares. Tim Mason, who runs the loss-making US offshoot, received about £7m. Pirc says the directors' pay schemes have a number of faults. It objects to the fact that two of the incentive schemes share a single target. It says there should be two targets "to avoid rewarding directors twice". A Tesco spokesman said the grocer was "disappointed" at the lobbying groups' recommendations and that the supermarket was continuing to talk to its shareholders in the run-up to the AGM. He said the grocer rewarded only "good long-term performance" last year and that directors' pay was only up 2% on the previous year.