Paddy Power defends top pay as 32% at AGM oppose bonus policy

Paddy Power-Betfair chairman Gary McGann yesterday defended the betting services group’s remuneration policy as “fair, transparent, and balanced” despite nearly a third of investors voting against it at the group’s first AGM as a merged entity.

Nearly 32% of shareholders voted against the group’s directors’ pay report at the meeting, with 68.2% backing it.

Mr McGann explained the division in votes stemmed from a change in the group’s long-term incentive plan (LTIP), rewarding executives with shares on meeting certain targets.