British Gas owner suffers shareholder rebellion over CEO pay packet
The owner of British Gas has suffered a shareholder rebellion after handing its chief executive a multimillion pound pay packet while energy bill payers struggle with record levels of debt.Nearly 40% of Centrica’s shareholders voted against the board’s pay plans at the energy company’s annual investor meeting in Manchester on Thursday, after rising criticism of boss Chris O’Shea’s pay during the energy crisis.O’Shea’s basic salary rose 29% last year to £1.1m to take his total pay packet, including bonuses and share-related pay, to £4.3m for the year.
The payday was about half what he was paid the year before when his pay packet ballooned to around £8m, largely thanks to a £5.9m bonus scheme.The pay rises have angered consumer groups, fuel poverty campaigners and climate activists who have accused the company of profiting from higher energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while millions of households have struggled to pay their heating bills because of soaring energy costs.In total, household energy debt and arrears have climbed to about £3.8bn, an increase of around £2bn since the start of 2022.
Centrica’s market value has grown by over 250% in the last five years due to climbing energy market prices after the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.However, shares in the FTSE 100 company fell by 7.5% on Thursday after it warned that the mild start to spring would dent its profits for the first quarter.Ahead of the shareholder vote, leading proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended against supporting O’Shea’s pay packet at the annual meeting.ISS told its clients the pay rise was “materially above those given to the wider workforce” and “not considered to be supported by cogent rationale”.
Mel Evans, Greenpeace UK’s climate team leader, called on the government to cap pay rises and bonuses for energy companies so they are not “rewarded for deepening the cost of living crisis”.“You know the profiteering has gone too far when even the shareholders start rejecting the bumper pay rises put forward by greedy bosses,” Evans said.“We’re all sick to death of being unfairly ripped off by the gas industry, who have made eye-watering profits at the expense of ordinary billpayers in recent years.”O’Shea said last year that it was “impossible to justify” his pay when British Gas customers were struggling.“You can’t justify a salary of that size,” he told the BBC.
“It’s a huge amount of money; I am incredibly fortunate.I don’t set my own pay; that’s set by our remuneration committee.”Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionA spokesperson for Centrica said: “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.”Separately, Tesco’s annual report revealed that the pay of its chief executive, Ken Murphy, fell by about £1m to £9.
23m – still 373 times that of the average employee at the supermarket group – after he missed targets on his bonus-related sales and profits as well as food waste.The retailer was forced to revise down its success in tackling food waste after a problem with a partner – which it emerged was turning the waste into energy rather than feeding it to animals as agreed.This year Murphy could earn more than £10m if he hits all his targets as his basic salary has been increased by 2% to almost £1.5m.
Donald Trump suggests tariffs on China should be 80%, but it’s ‘up to Scott B’ – business live
Newsflash: Donald Trump has suggested that the US tariffs on Chinese goods should be 80%.Posting on his Truth Social site, the US president says:80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B.Scott B is presumably Treasury secretary Bessent, who is due to meet with officials from China in Switzerland this weekend to discuss the trade war.An 80% tariff would be a notable reduction on the 145% which Trump imposed last month, but would still make it significantly more expensive for US companies to import goods from China.Trump has also urged Beijing to open up its markets, posting:CHINA SHOULD OPEN UP ITS MARKET TO USA — WOULD BE SO GOOD FOR THEM!!! CLOSED MARKETS DON’T WORK ANYMORE!!!Reminder: trade data from China earlier today showed a drop in shipments to, and from, the US
British Airways owner agrees $13bn deal to buy 32 Boeing planes
The parent company of British Airways has struck a $13bn (£9.8bn) deal to buy 32 new planes from the US aircraft maker Boeing, a day after a trade agreement with the US cut tariffs on the industry.International Airlines Group (IAG) – which also owns Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling – said the Boeing 787-10 aircraft would be for its British Airways fleet and included the option of buying 10 more aircraft.The “milestone order” also includes a near $8bn deal for 21 Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, which will be deployed across operations including Iberia and Aer Lingus. That deal includes an option to order up to 13 more aircraft
‘Tone deaf’: US tech company responsible for global IT outage to cut jobs and use AI
The cybersecurity company that became a household name after causing a massive global IT outage last year has announced it will cut 5% of its workforce in part due to “AI efficiency”.In a note to staff earlier this week, released in stock market filings in the US, CrowdStrike’s chief executive, George Kurtz, announced that 500 positions, or 5% of its workforce, would be cut globally, citing AI efficiencies created in the business.“We’re operating in a market and technology inflection point, with AI reshaping every industry, accelerating threats, and evolving customer needs,” he said.Kurtz said AI “flattens our hiring curve, and helps us innovate from idea to product faster”, adding it “drives efficiencies across both the front and back office”.“AI is a force multiplier throughout the business,” he said
Leave them hanging on the telephone | Brief letters
Regarding dealing with cold callers (Adrian Chiles, 7 May), it’s irritating I know, but if you don’t mind your phone being inaccessible for a few minutes, why not say: “Hang on, I’ll go and get him/her”, and then leave your phone until the caller rings off? At least you will have wasted some of their day.Robert WalkerPerrancoombe, Cornwall Re fostering a love of reading in children (Letters, 6 May), one of my fondest memories of my teaching career was story time in the infant class in a local village school. Most of the children came quite a distance on buses. They adored Michael Rosen’s poetry. There were many afternoons when it was home time and they would shout: “Please read another Michael Rosen one, Mrs Mansfield, the driver won’t mind waiting
Nottinghamshire v Hampshire, Warwickshire v Surrey, and more: county cricket – live
A flurry of late wickets – Notts now four down, Sussex three. Lunch round the sun-baked grounds.Joe Clarke, whose season has not yet flourished, is sent on his way lbw by Kyle Abbott. Notts 74-3.In Division Two, Glamorgan are sailing along at four an over against Kent after losing ul Hassan early
Horse racing: Chester Cup day, latest news, tips and more – live
It is a sumptuous afternoon here at Chester, and a near-capacity crowd is converging on the Roodee for the most popular day of the week. I cannot recommend it enough as a track – and a city – to visit, and it is even possible to watch all the action for free, from the Roman walls alongside the home stretch.Good afternoon from Chester on the final day of the track’s May meeting, when after two days of stepping stones to Epsom’s Classics and the Royal meeting at Ascot, the big race is all about backing a winner at decent odds in the here and now. The Chester Cup is a race for the punters, pure and simple, and they have been cramming onto the Roodee in the hope of returning home with a lot more money in their pockets ever since Doge Of Venice took the first running all the way back in 1824 (barely a quarter of a century after the abdication of the last actual Doge of Venice in 1797).It is, when all’s said and done, just a handicap
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