Sandwich-maker Greencore could face rebellion over bonus plans

theguardian.com:

The sandwich-maker Greencore could face a shareholder rebellion on Thursday over plans to pay out hundreds of thousands of pounds in executive bonuses despite failing to refund any of the near-£30m it received in government Covid support during the pandemic.

Investors voting at Greencore’s annual general meeting may heed warnings from the shareholder adviser firms Glass Lewis and ISS, which have suggested they reject Greencore’s remuneration report. Both advisers have raised concerns over the “appropriateness” of Greencore’s bonus payments given its reliance on cash from the government furlough scheme, which subsidised staff salaries with state funds during the Covid outbreak.

The company has defended its use of government funding, noting the severe drop in profits it suffered at the height of the pandemic, when lockdown orders hit food-to-go sales at some of its biggest customers, including the supermarkets M&S, Sainsbury’s and the Co-op. Greencore, which is headquartered in Ireland, swung to a £10.8m loss in 2020, from a £56.4m profit a year earlier.

Greencore subsequently tapped the state furlough programme for £21.3m in 2020, and a further £8.7m in 2021. While none of that taxpayer funded cash has been repaid, Greencore paid €343,000 (£286,000) in share-based bonuses to its chief financial officer, Emma Hynes, for 2021, bringing her total pay to £895,000.

The company also granted a €600,000 bonus to its chief executive, Patrick Coveney, but he will not receive his payout given he plans to leave the company to lead the travel caterer SSP by March this year.

Glass Lewis said it was concerned about Greencore’s decision-making in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, “particularly the payment of a deferred bonus award to the