EXECUTIVE pay packets are set to be high on the agenda at drinks giant Diageo's annual meeting today.
Last year, the company behind Bell's whisky and Guinness won support for all of its resolutions, including 88 per cent approval from voting shareholders for its pay report.
This year, investor group Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (Pirc) has raised concerns about the firm's "excessive" awards for its top staff ahead of today's gathering of several hundred shareholders in London.
"The CEO variable pay is over three times his base salary and realised pay over the last five years is not commensurate with financial performance of the company and the rewarded pay is considered excessive.
"An oppose vote is recommended," the organisation said.
Pirc, which opposed the company's pay plans in 2012 and 2013, has also recommended a vote against the firm's remuneration policy for future years.
The group argued that the various incentive schemes could hand directors up to 700 per cent of their base salary. Pirc estimates that chief executive Ivan Menezes is paid 34 times the wages of an average employee.
Robert Talbut, chief investment officer at Royal London Asset Management, has also spoken out against the company's pay policy ahead of the meeting.
The company is understood to be confident that all of its plans will be strongly supported by shareholders.
Diageo plans to pay out just 8.9 per cent of the maximum cash bonus to Mr Menezes, chief financial officer Deirdre Mahlan and former chief executive Paul Walsh, who left in September after nearly 13 years in charge.
Mr Walsh has nevertheless been awarded £6.4 million for his final three months at the firm.
His replacement, Mr Menezes ,is set to be paid £7.7m for the year to the end of June, including long-term share awards from his current role and previous job as chief operating officer.
Diageo missed targets on sales growth, pre-tax profits and cash flow. In the year since Mr Menezes took the reins in July 2013, shares in Diageo fell 31p or 1.6 per cent, lagging a rise of almost nine per cent in the FTSE 100 index.
"We are satisfied that the levels of our reward are appropriately positioned against those of comparator companies of similar size and global scope," said Diageo in a statement yesterday.
Pirc has also raised concerns about the reappointment of auditor KPMG, which has worked with the firm since 1997, over concerns that it makes too much money from non-audit work with Diageo to be wholly independent.
The company said in its annual report document that it planned to invite pitches for the job of auditor shortly.
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