Dunelm in row over boss’ ‘excessive’ £4m pay

Dunelm has been caught up in a pay row over a potential £4m pay package its boss its set to pocket.

The home furnishings retailer is now under pressure over the amount following accusations that the deal is “excessive”.

According to the Independent, shareholder advisory group Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) has advised investors to vote against the firm’s pay plans at its upcoming general meeting later this month.

The claims come following Dunelm’s annual report which revealed that Nick Wilkinson, chief exec of the firm, saw his total pay quadruple to £4.04m for the year to June, from £959,000 in the previous year after securing £3.4m in bonuses.

It was revealed that Wilkinson’s pay was increased as shares worth £2.8m under a three-year long-term incentive scheme vested, while he also pocketed £570,000 in an annual bonus.

Commenting on the pay package, PIRC shared that it would not be “considered in line with the company’s financial performance over the same period”.

“The ratio of the CEO’s pay compared to average employee pay is considered unacceptable, standing at 66:1,” added PIRC.

Similarly, Laura Carr, the finance lead at Dunelm, also witnessed her pay increase up to £2.5m from £496,000 the previous year, which can be attributed to £2m in bonus and long-term share payouts.

Both leaders also saw hikes in their annual salaries after voluntarily taking pay cuts during the start of the pandemic, with another 3.5% each from August 1, which was in line with wider pay rises across the business.

Dunelm shared in its annual report: “Management remuneration is performance-related and is calculated over multi-year periods in order to incentivise and reward sustained strong performance, and the majority is paid in shares.

“Two-thirds of the ‘single figure’ pay reflects a three-year period during which significant strategic progress was made through building our customer proposition, digital capability and our approach to climate change and sustainability, resulting in significant growth in our share price.”

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