Fat cat 'disgrace' at Whitbread

Whitbread shareholders have revolted after chief executive David Thomas and pub-restaurant boss Bill Shannon were last year paid £850,000 and £600,000 respectively.

More than 30 per cent of shareholders opposed the leisure group's remuneration policy because directors are still on two-year contracts.

Contracts of this length are considered potential timebombs which can later force shareholders to foot multi-million-pound pay-offs for failing executives.

If either Mr Thomas or Mr Shannon (pictured)​ were sacked they would receive one-and-half times their salaries.

Private shareholder Laurence O'Donoghue told chairman Sir John Banham: "It is a disgrace that you still have two-year contracts. Decent people have renounced such agreements in other companies. Why have you not stopped these iniquitous contracts at any time in the last decade?"

Last week Whitbread announced there had been "encouraging" like-for-like sales growth for the 14 weeks to June in all divisions except Marriott hotels, where like-for-likes had declined by 2.4 per cent.

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