Centrica faced a shareholder revolt on Thursday over executive pay, after nearly 40% voted against its directors’ pay packets at the energy firm’s annual general meeting.
The British Gas owner has faced criticism for how much it pays chief executive Chris O’Shea in recent years.
Mr O’Shea was paid £4.3 million last year, about half of what he earned in the previous 12 months, including bonuses and share-related pay.
But his annual basic salary rose 29% to £1.1 million.
At the meeting in Manchester, 39.98% of shareholder votes went against approving Centrica’s annual remuneration report, which sets the pay for top directors.
A spokesperson for Centrica said: “The board appreciates the support shown by shareholders for the resolutions at today’s AGM.
“We acknowledge the outcome of the vote on resolution two relating to the directors remuneration report.
“While we welcome the backing of the majority of our shareholders for that resolution following extensive engagement on remuneration, we will continue to engage with shareholders in constructive and open dialogue.
“The company will provide an update to shareholders within six months of today’s meeting.”
The vote comes after shareholder proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) reportedly recommended against supporting his pay packet.
Sky News reported earlier in May that ISS had told clients the pay rise was “materially above those given to the wider workforce”.
ISS said: “The CEO’s salary positioning and manner in which the increase has been implemented is not considered to be supported by cogent rationale.”
Mr O’Shea told the BBC in 2024 there was “no point” trying to justify his pay package, when at the time many of his customers were struggling with high energy bills.
He said at the time that “you can’t justify a salary of that size”.
It comes after companies including Unilever and Melrose were struck with similar shareholder revolts over director pay in April.
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