Vistry board stands by CEO’s pay packet

Vistry chief executive Greg Fitzgerald could see his total remuneration more than double from £2.5m to £5.6m

Under proposals that were only narrowly approved by shareholders last summer, Fitzgerald’s base salary is increasing by 10% to £800,000 but his annual bonus of up to 150% of salary is increasing to 300%. He also gets shares worth up to three times his salary if targets are met under the new long-term incentive plan.

At the company's extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held on 30 August 2023, 45% of shareholders voted against the proposed long term incentive plan. The motion was passed but the opposition was significant enough for the board to take note.

Today the Vistry board has issued an update on the controversy, defending the chief executive’s remuneration.

It said that while the remuneration committee acknowledge the concerns, “they maintain their view that the positioning of remuneration under the new policy is aligned with a framework that is highly performance orientated, and emphasises variable, equity-based remuneration designed to incentivise growth and creation of shareholder value over the long term”.

It said: “The committee is grateful to shareholders for their engagement and acknowledges that through the engagement process shareholders have expressed different perspectives. The company remains committed to ongoing shareholder engagement and will continue to do so to ensure that the company understands shareholders' views and is able to consider feedback, as well as to provide clarity on the company's approach to remuneration going forward.”

It added: “The chair of the committee shall write to shareholders following the publication of the 2023 annual report and accounts to explain the remuneration decisions that have been made for 2023 as well as providing details on the implementation of our policy in 2024

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