AGM alert: Burberry, Sainsbury’s, Land Securities

A Burberry store in Porto, Portugal. Photo: John Keeble/Getty Images.

Burberry Group (LSE:BRBY) boss Joshua Schulman is to reap the benefit of his turnaround progress after the group said it intended to hike its variable pay opportunity for the first time in a decade.

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Schulman’s on-target compensation opportunity will increase to £6.3 million from £4.5 million, rising to £12.2 million in the event that Burberry manages a “truly exceptional” performance and also delivers 50% share price growth over a three-year period.

The package reflects the grant of performance-linked long-term incentives worth up to 300% of his £1.25 million base salary, alongside an existing Restricted Share Plan award of 150%.

The remuneration committee said Schulman’s award levels were appropriately incentivising, retentive and reasonable and that it had not sought to replicate US-type pay levels.

The changes, which are subject to approval at next month’s AGM, recognise Schulman’s impact since taking the helm of the UK’s only listed luxury fashion business in July 2024.

Burberry

When: 10.30am, Wednesday, 15 July.

Where: Horseferry House, Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2AW.

How to participate: Proxy voting instructions should be returned no later than 10.30am, Monday 13 July. More AGM details can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? Former Kingfisher chief executive Gerry Murphy has held the role since July 2018. William Jackson, who is the founder and former chief executive of FTSE 250-listed private equity firm Bridgepoint, is set to succeed him following interim results in November.

How did the company do in the year to 28 March? Revenues of £2.4 billion were 2% lower on a reported basis but flat at constant exchange rates. Adjusted operating profit jumped to £160 million from £26 million a year earlier after Burberry achieved a margin improvement to 6.6% from 1% the year before. Free cash flow generation of £141 million was more than double 2024/25’s figure. No dividend was paid in relation to the financial year.

How have shares performed? Up 27% to 1,026.5p (1,137.5p on Thursday).

How much is the boss paid? Joshua Schulman’s total remuneration for 2025-26 amounted to £4 million, which included £2.3 million after the annual bonus scheme paid 97.5% of the maximum opportunity. The bonus scorecard was based 75% on adjusted operating profit, which at £160 million exceeded the maximum target, and 25% on strategic objectives. Schulman, who joined the business in July 2024, was not a participant of the long-term incentive scheme when shares were granted in 2023. His base salary for this year has increased 3% to £1.24 million.

What’s in the new remuneration policy? The key change is the introduction of a hybrid long-term incentive plan comprising performance share (PSP) awards alongside the current restricted share plan (RSP) awards. The PSP award has a maximum opportunity of 300% of salary while the RSP award has been reduced to 150% of salary from the current 162.5%. The annual bonus opportunity will remain at 200% of salary.

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What’s the maximum opportunity for the CEO? Schulman’s on-target compensation will increase to £6.3 million from £4.5 million previously, rising to £12.2 million when 50% share price growth is added to the maximum opportunity of £9.5 million. The changes represent the first increase in the variable pay opportunity for the CEO role since 2016-17, when Burberry had a performance share award at 325% of salary. This was subsequently converted to a Restricted Share award at 162.5% of salary following the 2020 AGM.

What about targets? Awards under the proposed Performance Share Plan will be subject to the equally weighted measures of revenue, return on invested capital (ROIC) and relative total shareholder return. Burberry said maximum vesting required the delivery of “truly exceptional” revenues of £3.1 billion at constant exchange rates by 2028/29. This is a compound annual growth rate of about 9% from 2025-26, which is ahead of external expectations for the luxury market. The underpins for the RSP award are revenue of at least £2.6 billion in 2028-29, as well as the metric of ROIC and progress on brand and sustainability strategies.

What else has the company said? The remuneration committee points out that Burberry’s competitors are not subject to the same governance expectations on remuneration that apply to a UK-listed company. “It is in our shareholders’ interests that we are able to compete with these companies for proven leaders with luxury experience who can recognise the strength of the Burberry brand and deliver long-term shareholder value.” 

The committee said Schulman’s award levels were appropriately incentivising, retentive and reasonable. It added: “Although the committee has not sought to match USA pay levels, we have been mindful of shareholder preferences by ensuring that the majority of the total long-term opportunity is in the form of PSP awards and subject to the delivery of stretching performance targets.”

How did last year’s AGM go? The annual remuneration report was approved with 95.18% of votes in favour. The current remuneration policy got 91.02% support at the 2023 AGM.

How’s the company doing on diversity? The gender split of the board is 56% female, including two senior roles. One director is from an ethnic minority background.

Sainsbury’s

When: 11am, Thursday 2 July.

Where: Leonardo Royal Hotel London St Paul’s, 10 Godliman Street, London EC4V 5AJ.

How to participate:Sainsbury (J) (LSE:SBRY)'s meeting will be broadcast live so shareholders can attend and participate virtually or in person.  Proxy voting instructions should be returned by no later than 11am, Tuesday 30 June. More AGM details can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? Former Deloitte partner Martin Scicluna, who previously chaired the boards of RSA Insurance and Great Portland Estates, joined in 2018 and took on the role of chair in March 2019.

How did the company do in the year to 28 February? Retail sales excluding VAT and fuel rose 4.3% to £30 billion, including 4.9% growth in the supermarket business and 0.7% at Argos. Underlying operating profit of £1.025 billion fell 1.1%, reflecting operating cost inflation and investment in prices. Argos profits were broadly in line with last year. Retail free cash flow generation rose 8.1% to £574 million while underlying earnings per share improved 3.2% to 22.3p, aided by the impact of share buybacks in the year. A final dividend of 9.6p is due to be paid on 10 July, lifting the total for the year by 0.7% to 13.7p a share.

How have shares performed? Up 35% to 349p (309.9p on Thursday).

How much is the boss paid? Simon Roberts’ total remuneration rose to £5.4 million, up from £5.2 million the year before and the highest sum for the CEO’s role in a decade. The latest figure included cash and deferred shares worth £1.9 million after the annual bonus scheme paid  86.5% of the maximum opportunity.  The 72.5% vesting of long-term incentives contributed £2.4 million to the final figure, including share price growth of £351,000. Roberts’ base salary for this year has increased by 3% to £1.04 million, effective from 24 May.

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How was variable pay determined? Operating profit, which accounted for half the annual bonus scorecard, came in between target and stretch levels for a contribution of 37.5% out of 50%. The rest of the bonus was based on retail free cash flow (20%) and a strategic scorecard (30%) comprising staff, customer and individual objectives. The vesting of long-term incentives was based on eight key performance indicators, including the four financial metrics of retail free cash flow, return on capital employed, earnings per share and cost reduction.

What’s in the new remuneration policy? The three-year policy document, which was last approved at the 2023 AGM with 99.12% of votes in favour, is largely unchanged. The changes proposed are an increase to the maximum award available under the long-term incentive plan from 250% to 300% of salary and the ability to reduce but not remove entirely the level of compulsory bonus deferral for executives who have met their shareholding requirement. Neither change will be implemented during the coming year. Roberts’ maximum remuneration opportunity for 2026-27 is £6 million, which includes an annual bonus worth up to 220% of salary and increases to £7.3 million when accompanied by 50% share price growth.

What about staff remuneration? A 5% increase on 29 March took the base rate for Sainsbury’s and Argos retail hourly paid staff to £13.23, or £14.54 for those in London.

How did last year’s AGM go? The annual remuneration report was approved with 97.89% of votes in favour.

How’s the company doing on diversity? Female board representation at the end of the financial year was 50%, including the role of chief financial officer. One member of the board was from an ethnically diverse background.

Land Securities

When: 10.30am, Thursday 9 July.

Where: 80 Victoria Street, London SW1E 5JL

How to participate: The deadline for the return of proxy voting instructions is 10.30am, Tuesday 7 July. More details about Land Securities Group (LSE:LAND)'s AGM can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? Ian Cheshire, who joined the board in March 2023, was chief executive of B&Q owner Kingfisher from 2008 to 2015.

How did the company do in the year to 31 March? The EPRA industry benchmark for earnings rose by £8 million to £382 million, even though the £245 million sale of the Queen Anne’s Mansions (QAM) office block in London turned future finance lease income into a capital receipt. Earnings per share ended the year at the top end of guidance, up 2.2% to 51.4p, as 4.6% like-for-like income growth and a 15% fall in overhead costs more than offset a 1.8% EPS impact from the sale of QAM. A final dividend of 22.2p is due to be paid on 24 July, increasing the total for the year by 2% to 41.2p a share.

How have shares performed? Up 1% to 553p (642p on Thursday).

How much is the boss paid? Mark Allan’s total remuneration of £2.7 million fell from £3.7 million the year before. The latest figure included a smaller annual bonus of cash and deferred shares worth £692,000, which was based on 51.2% of the maximum opportunity. The 38.1% vesting of long-term incentives granted in 2023 contributed £979,000, compared with £1.6 million in 2025 when the vesting outcome was 60%. A 3% increase applied from 1 June has taken Allan’s base salary to £932,000.

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How was variable pay determined? The annual bonus metrics of earnings and net rental income growth came in ahead of target, while group loan-to-value was below threshold. The long-term incentives outturn reflected a mid-ranking performance for total shareholder return relative to 19 peers and progress on the reduction of carbon emissions.

How did last year’s AGM go? The annual remuneration was approved with 96.63% of votes in favour.

How’s the company doing on diversity? The gender split of the board is 40% female, including two senior board roles. Two directors are from minority ethnic backgrounds.