Fat cat pay revolt at M&C Saatchi as shares fall 8.4%

Revolt: Almost 39% of M&C Saatchi shareholders voted against the firm’s executive pay report

M&C Saatchi investors have revolted over executive pay.

Almost 39 per cent voted against the executive pay report, hours after it warned the challenging advertising environment would continue to hurt revenue.

Over a quarter of shareholders also voted against the re-election of Louise Jackson, the chairman of the remuneration committee and non-executive director. 

Jackson received a base salary of £95,000 for 2022 – up 27 per cent from the year before – while chief executive Moray MacLennan was paid £1.3million.

It came after the London-listed shares dropped 19 per cent in early trading after it said full-year revenues are due to see a ‘small decline’ as a result of economic uncertainty. 

Shares fell 8.4 per cent, or 14.5p, to 159p.

In April it forecast pre-tax profits of £36.5million to £38million, representing a 15 per cent to 19 per cent increase on 2022’s record profits.