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The owner of the London Stock Exchange is plotting a multimillion pound pay rise for its chief executive amid a debate about whether FTSE 100 bosses’ incentive packages are damaging the competitiveness of Britain’s economy.

Sky News has learnt that London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) is consulting with its major shareholders about a revised pay policy that would give boss David Schwimmer the opportunity to earn almost double his current maximum package of £6.25m.

Last year, Mr Schwimmer was paid just over £4.7m, of which £1m was his base salary, £1.4m his annual bonus and nearly £2m in the form of a long-term incentive award.

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Sources said that LSEG was now proposing to increase Mr Schwimmer’s base pay to around £1.25m, while his annual bonus opportunity would increase from 225% of salary to 300%.

In addition, his maximum annual LTIP award would increase from 300% of salary to 550%.

That would mean Mr Schwimmer, who has transformed the company since he took over in 2018, was eligible for a total package of around £11m.

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LSE CEO David Schwimmer could be in line for a huge pay rise.

One shareholder said they were backing the proposals ahead of LSEG’s annual general meeting in the spring because of concerns about the flow of UK-listed companies heading across the Atlantic to list on US stock markets.

The peer group of companies with which LSEG was competing was not other large FTSE-100 companies, they added, but American technology companies which were able to pay vastly higher remuneration packages.

Julia Hoggett, the LSEG chief executive who runs the London Stock Exchange subsidiary, sparked a debate last year when she warned that lower executive pay was hampering the ability of British companies to draw ‘global talent’ to their ranks.

Mr Schwimmer’s revised pay package has been communicated to nearly 100 investors during private discussions, with the response overwhelmingly positive, according to several sources.

In addition to his bigger pay deal, his minimum shareholding requirement will be increased from four times his salary to six times, according to one shareholder consulted on the plans.

The proposals are significant, partly because LSEG owns the London exchange and Ms Hoggett’s recent comments, but also because the body which represents institutional investors has also signalled a softening approach to large boardroom pay deals.

An LSEG spokeswoman said: “As stated in LSEG’s 2022 annual report, the remuneration committee will present a new policy to shareholders in 2024.

“The committee periodically reviews executive remuneration arrangements, in line with usual corporate governance practices, to ensure they remain fit for purpose and aligned to our ambitious growth strategy.

“The policy will focus on attracting, securing, retaining and rewarding the best talent in a competitive global market.”

Sky News revealed last month that the Investment Association, whose members collectively manage £8.8trn in assets, had drafted a letter to the chairs of FTSE-350 remuneration committees in which it highlighted a significant change in its stance towards bosses’ pay.

The IA said it acknowledged feedback from companies – particularly the largest in the FTSE-100 – that they were finding it increasingly challenging to “attract US executives and compete in the US market” because of the gulf between pay deals for bosses working for London and New York-listed businesses.

The draft also highlighted a growing desire from British companies to introduce so-called hybrid incentive schemes comprising both restricted stock and long-term share awards.

“These global companies are able to use such schemes in the US and other jurisdictions and feel such structures should be used for their executives,” the draft letter says.

The investor body flagged concerns raised by companies that the range of measures – such as malus, clawback and post-employment shareholding requirements – designed to prevent high pay packages being awarded without appropriate long-term evidence of strong financial performance may have gone too far.

“Individually, they are accepted as a means to increase the long-term alignment of executives and shareholders but in aggregate there may be a view that the perceived impact on the value of remuneration received is disproportionate,” it said.

The letter comes amid growing fears for the future of the London stock market following the release of data showing that the declining number of companies listed in the UK has accelerated in recent years, and amid visible signs that the City is losing ground to its biggest global rival.

Last month, Flutter Entertainment, the owner of Paddy Power and Betfair, confirmed that it intended to shift its primary listing to the US, while a growing number of companies have said they plan to float in New York rather than London.

In recent months, a number of prominent public company bosses, including the former chief executives of Barclays, BP and NatWest, have seen tens of millions of pounds of pay awards cancelled and clawed back owing to revelations of misconduct.

The latest intervention from the IA therefore marks a decisive shift from its stance in recent years, which has sought to hold boardroom pay chiefs to account over perceptions of excess in boardroom pay practices.

In 2017, the trade body introduced a public register to draw attention to any public company receiving significant opposition to boardroom pay packages in an attempt to put the brakes on inflated awards.

It also fought to curb windfall gains for executives after the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a plunge in many companies’ share prices, handing them bumper stock awards several years later.

Its revamped approach to executive pay nevertheless has the potential to prove controversial given ongoing concerns about the cost of living and the perspective of campaigners against multimillion pound corporate pay packages.

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M&S tells agency workers to stay at home after cyberattack

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M&S tells agency workers to stay at home after cyberattack

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has ordered hundreds of agency workers at its main distribution centre to stay at home as it grapples with the unfolding impact of a cyberattack on Britain’s best-known retailer.

Sky News has learnt that roughly 200 people who had been due to undertake shift work at M&S’s vast Castle Donington clothing and homewares logistics centre in the East Midlands have been told not to come in amid the escalating crisis.

Agency staff make up about 20% of Castle Donington’s workforce, according to a source close to M&S.

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The retailer’s own employees who work at the site have been told to come in as usual, the source added.

“There is work for them to do,” they said.

M&S disclosed last week that it was suspending online orders as a result of the cyberattack, but has provided few other details about the nature and extent of the incident.

In its latest update to investors, the company said on Friday that its product range was “available to browse online, and our stores remain open and ready to welcome and serve customers”.

“We continue to manage the incident proactively and the M&S team – supported by leading experts – is working extremely hard to restore online operations and continue to serve customers well,” it added.

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It was unclear on Monday how long the disruption to M&S’s e-commerce operations would last, although retail executives said the cyberattack was “extensive” and that it could take the company some time to fully resolve its impact.

Shares in M&S slid a further 2.4% on Monday morning, following a sharp fall last week, as investors reacted to the absence of positive news about the incident.

M&S declined to comment further.

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Deliveroo shares surge 17% as £2.7bn takeover looms

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Deliveroo shares surge 17% as £2.7bn takeover looms

Shares in meal delivery platform Deliveroo have surged by 17% as investors react to news of a £2.7bn takeover proposal.

The company revealed after the market had closed on Friday that it had been in talks since 5 April with US rival DoorDash.

Deliveroo suggested then it was likely the 180p per share offer would be recommended, though full terms were yet to be agreed.

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At that price, the company’s founder and chief executive, Will Shu, would be in line for a windfall of more than £170m.

Deliveroo further announced, before trading on Monday, that it had suspended its £100m share buyback programme.

The opening share price reaction took the value to 171p per share – still shy of the 180p on the table – and well under the 390p per share flotation price seen in 2021.

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Deliveroo’s shares have weakened nearly 50% since their market debut.

The deal is not expected to face regulatory hurdles as it provides DoorDash access to 10 new markets where it currently has no presence.

But a takeover would likely represent a blow to the City of London given the anticipated loss of a tech-focused player.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “If the deal is done at that price, the company will fail to shake off the ‘Floperoo’ tag it was saddled with after its disastrous IPO debut in 2021.

“Even though Deliveroo has finally broken through into profitable territory, the prolonged bout of indigestion around its share price has continued.

“The surge in demand for home deliveries during the pandemic waned just as competition heated up. Deliveroo’s foray into grocery deliveries has helped it turn a profit but it’s still facing fierce rivals.”

She added: “The DoorDash Deliveroo deal will be unappetising for the government which has been trying to boost the number of tech companies listed in London.

“If Deliveroo is purchased it would join a stream of companies leaving the London Stock Exchange, with too few IPOs [initial public offerings] in the pipeline to make up the numbers.”

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US trade deal ‘possible’ but not ‘certain’, says senior minister

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US trade deal 'possible' but not 'certain', says senior minister

A trade deal with the US is “possible” but not “certain”, a senior minister has said as he struck a cautious tone about negotiations with the White House.

Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips there was “a serious level of engagement going on at high levels” to secure a UK-US trade deal.

However, Mr McFadden, a key ally of Sir Keir Starmer, struck a more cautious tone than Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the prospect of a US trade deal, saying: “I think an agreement is possible – I don’t think it’s certain, and I don’t want to say it’s certain, but I think it’s possible.”

He went on to say the government wanted an “agreement in the UK’s interests” and not a “hasty deal”, amid fears from critics that Number 10 could acquiesce a deal that lowers food standards, for example, or changes certain taxes in a bid to persuade Donald Trump to lower some of the tariffs that have been placed on British goods.

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And asked about the timing of the deal – following recent reports an agreement was imminent – Mr McFadden said: “We’ll keep working with the United States and keep trying to get to an agreement in the coming weeks.”

As well as talks with the US, the UK has also ramped up its efforts with the EU, with suggestions it could include a new EU youth mobility scheme that would allow under-30s from the bloc to live, work and study in the UK and vice versa.

Mr McFadden said he believed the government could “improve upon” the Brexit deal struck by Boris Johnson, saying it had caused “an awful lot of bureaucracy and costs here in the UK”.

He said “first and foremost” on the government’s agenda was securing a food and agriculture and a veterinary agreement, saying it was “such an important area for the UK and an area where we’ve had so much extra cost and bureaucracy because of Brexit”.

He added: “But again, as with the United States, there’s no point in calling the game before it’s done. We’ve still got work to do, and we’re doing that work with our partners in the EU.”

The Cabinet Office minister also rejected suggestions the UK would have to choose between pursuing a trade deal with the US and one with the EU – the latter of which has banned chlorinated chicken in its markets – as has the UK – but which the US has historically wanted.

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On the issue of chlorinated chicken, Mr McFadden said the government had “made clear we will not water down animal welfare standards with either party”.

“But I don’t agree that it’s some fundamental choice beyond where we have to pick one trading partner rather than another. I think that’s to misunderstand the nature of the UK economy, and I don’t think would be in our interests to put all our eggs in one basket.”

Also speaking to Trevor Phillips was Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who said the government should be close to closing the deal with the US “because we got very close last time President Trump was in office”.

She also insisted food standards should not be watered down in order to get a deal, saying she did not reach an agreement with Canada when she was in government for that reason.

“What Labour needs to do now is show that they can get a deal that isn’t making concessions, so we can have what we had last month before the trade tariffs, and we need serious people doing this,” she said.

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