Wizz Air faces investor backlash over £100m bonus plan for boss

Wizz Air is facing a backlash over a plan to pay CE Jozsef Varadi a GBP100m bonus if he can rapidly grow the low-cost airline’s share price as the industry recovers from the pandemic.  Varadi is in line for one of the biggest payouts from a London-listed company if Wizz’s shares rise from their current GBP45 to GBP120 over the next five years, triggering concern among some in the investment community. The UK Investment Association’s influential voting advisory service Ivis has issued a red-top alert to investors over the Hungarian-based carrier’s pay plan. A red top is the highest level of warning issued by the IA, whose members collectively own a third of UK, and is used to flag significant corporate governance concerns to shareholders. The warning comes after both Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, influential advisers to many of the world’s biggest asset managers, urged shareholders to reject the pay plan. Glass Lewis said it had “severe reservations” about the remuneration plans, which could allow for “excessive payouts”, while ISS said the company had not provided a “compelling rationale for the retentive or motivational effects of the scheme for the CEO”.  Shareholders will vote on the package — which also includes a GBP50m bonus pool for other senior executives and smaller bonuses for all staff including cabin crew — at the annual meeting next Tuesday. The IA, ISS and Glass Lewis also raised concerns over diversity at the company, which is short of the UK target that 30% of board roles should be held by women. <br/>