TRG shareholders rebel over executive pay
A significant proportion of shareholders in the Restaurant Group (TRG), which owns brands including Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito, have voted down the pay packets of its top executives.
More than a quarter (26.8%) of TRG's shareholders voted to reject the company's remuneration report at the annual general meeting.
The report detailed the salaries and bonuses for directors including chief executive Danny Breithaupt and finance director Stephen Critoph who stepped down last month after the firm revealed a drop in sales.
TRG said it believed the voting was as a result of "concerns of a number of investors" over a payment to departing chairman Alan Jackson, according to The Guardian.
The vote is advisory, and rose to 33% once deliberate abstentions were included.
The business acknowledged the protest, saying: "The company understands that this reflects the concerns of a number of investors in respect of the termination arrangements for Alan Jackson and the level of the executive director annual bonus awards for 2015.
"The remuneration committee will carry out a detailed review of all of the feedback received to understand fully all of the reasons behind the vote result so that it can reflect, where appropriate, in its approach going forward."
The news comes after the business last month announced falling sales and the departure of Critoph amid "a further deterioration in trading conditions".
For the 17 weeks to 24 April total sales were up 4.7%, but like-for-like sales were down 2.7%.
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