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The pay of FTSE 100 chief executives surged by £560,000 to a mean of just about £5mn final 12 months, rebounding to ranges not seen since 2017.
The figures come as UK executives push for increased payouts to compete with worldwide rivals, notably within the US, the place firm bosses are paid considerably extra.
The rise in common pay was pushed by “a small variety of corporations making actually giant pay awards somewhat than large will increase throughout the board”, mentioned Luke Hildyard, director on the Excessive Pay Centre think-tank, which compiled the information.
The variety of corporations on the blue-chip index paying their bosses greater than £10mn rose from 4 in 2022 to 9 in 2023.
Median pay rose extra modestly from £4.1mn to £4.19mn, in response to the Excessive Pay Centre’s evaluation of firm disclosures, although this was nonetheless the best since 2009, the earliest 12 months for which it has collected the information.
AstraZeneca chief govt Sir Pascal Soriot remained the highest-paid FTSE boss with whole pay of £16.9mn, up from £15.1mn a 12 months earlier.
Erik Engstrom and Charles Woodburn — the heads of Relx and BAE Programs — have been every paid greater than £13mn.
Rolls-Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgiç obtained comparable remuneration however this included a once-off £7.5mn share award, which can not absolutely vest till 2028, to compensate him for shares he forfeited when he joined from his earlier non-public fairness job.
Soriot’s pay may rise once more this 12 months as AstraZeneca in current months joined giant UK-listed teams comparable to London Inventory Trade Group and Smith & Nephew in successful shareholder backing for increased govt pay packages.
LSEG boss David Schwimmer mentioned in February: “If London has an ambition to be a globally main monetary centre and to draw world-class corporations, which means it has to draw world-class expertise.”
The evaluation covers chief executives’ complete pay packages, together with wage, bonuses, pension and incentive plans.
Firms argue that almost all of executives’ pay comes from bonuses and share awards linked to efficiency. Relx’s share value has risen about seven-fold since Engstrom took over in 2009, for instance.
However the figures will likely be seized on by opponents of excessive pay, with the median FTSE 100 chief now paid 120 instances the median full-time British employee, in response to the Excessive Pay Centre.
Hildyard blamed the hole on “the decline of commerce union membership, low ranges of employee participation in enterprise decision-making and a enterprise tradition that places the pursuits of traders earlier than employees, prospects, suppliers and different stakeholders”.
“These developments have been superb for these on the prime, however it’s extra questionable whether or not they’re within the pursuits of the nation as an entire,” he added.
The UK’s new Labour authorities has pledged to make it simpler for unions to achieve statutory recognition and enhance their rights to entry workplaces to organise and recruit.
GSK chief govt Dame Emma Walmsley’s remuneration of £12.7mn made her the highest-paid lady.
The median pay for the six corporations that had feminine chief executives for the entire 12 months was just below £2.7mn, in contrast with virtually £4.2mn for males.
