4:37 pm, September 3, 2018
THE BOSS of British Car Auctions has been criticised by a leading shareholder advisory group for receiving a whopping £29m bonus.
Avril Palmer-Baunack, pictured, chief executive of BCA, was given the bonus in December 2017 as a result of a £50m shares windfall for a handful of the company’s senior directors, said The Times.
The 54-year-old’s annual salary was also increased by eight per cent to £525,000, according to the Mail on Sunday, meaning the lump sump she was awarded is 59 times higher than her yearly earnings.
In a report to BCA’s shareholders, Glass Lewis described the bonus as ‘exceptionally disproportionate’ and advised that they vote against a proposal to implement pay rises for Palmer-Baunack and other high-ranking employees.
However, even if shareholders do vote against the proposal, their decision can be overridden by BCA’s board.
Palmer-Baunack began her career as a Marks & Spencer shop assistant, later working for a car rental company in south London. She went on to become the head of road haulage company Stobart Group, before joining BCA – which is the parent company of WeBuyAnyCar – in 2014 and helping to launch the firm on the stock market the following year.
She is married to a German executive at Volkswagen and is believed to be the highest-paid female boss of a London Stock Exchange company.
BCA was contacted by Car Dealer Magazine but declined to comment on the matter.
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