Flutter CEO pay rise rubberstamped despite a third of shareholders opposing proposal
Peter Jackson sees base pay rise to £1.17m as operator points to need to “remain competitive” as core reason for increase
Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson has been handed a 26% bump in his basic pay despite almost a third of shareholders opposing the increase.
The vote at the Dublin-headquartered firm’s AGM saw Jackson’s basic salary increase from £923,000 to £1.17m, while chief financial officer Jonathan Hill’s base pay packet rose 20% to from £594,000 to £715,000.
Jackson, who has been in the top job at Flutter since 2018 (then Paddy Power Betfair), received a total remuneration of £8.4m in 2021, including a £2.6m bonus and £4.7m in long-term incentives. The CFO’s total package topped £4.4m last year.
The pay increases were not supported universally, though, as 32.5% of the FTSE 100 operator’s shareholders voted down the proposal.
In reaction to the shareholder vote, Flutter moved to qualm any frustrations or doubts over the pay jumps, citing the need to “remain competitive” in the market.
The operator said: “We understand that a minority of shareholders had concerns with the level of base salary increases awarded, and were unable to vote in favour of resolution two on this basis.
“The remuneration committee considered that increased base salary levels for our CEO and CFO were necessary to ensure that our executive director total remuneration packages are representative of Flutter’s business context, and remain competitive in both the current UK market and the wider US and international digital markets in which we now operate.
“The remuneration committee and the board continue to believe that these measures were appropriate and in the best interests of the company.”
Elsewhere, Flutter confirmed the appointment of Carolan Lennon as a non-executive director from 1 July.
Lennon previously served as CEO of Irish telecoms firm Eir and is set to be appointed country leader of Salesforce Ireland.
Additionally, Holly Keller Koeppel has been made chair of Flutter’s audit committee, replacing Michael Cawley, while David Lazzarato has been named as the new chair of its risk and sustainability committee.
Flutter is due to reveal its Q1 financial performance in a trading update scheduled for 4 May.