According to research by the High Pay Centre think tank, the average pay of FTSE 100 chief executives rose 2% to £4.19m ($5.35m) from a year earlier. That’s down from the 21% rise seen the year before and also below the increases received by chief executives at major US companies, according to another study.
This follows calls for UK executives to be paid more to compete with levels seen in the US. Last year, London Stock Exchange chief executive Julia Hoggett said restrictions on executive pay were hampering companies’ efforts to attract top talent, as well as undermining the City of London’s appeal after Brexit.
The 2% increase for U.K. chief executives compares with a 12.5% annual rise in median CEO pay at S&P 500 companies with proxy filings in 2024, according to data provider ISS-Corporate, a division of Institutional Shareholder Services.
The latest rise in the UK reflects a small number of companies making large pay increases, rather than large increases across the board, said Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre.
Pascal Soriot, chief executive of drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc, was the biggest earner in the FTSE 100 index last year, taking in a total of 16.9 million pounds. The Astra chief executive has previously said his pay compares unfavourably with that of directors of drug companies in the United States and elsewhere, while one of the drugmaker’s largest shareholders has said he believes Soriot is “grossly underpaid”.
Others on the list include Relx Plc CEO Erik Engstrom, who earned £13.6m, and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc boss Tufan Erginbilgic, who received a similar amount.
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