The budget carrier’s board this morning survived a rebellion against its remuneration report and the re-election of several directors, including chairman Sir Michael Rake. More than 44pc of votes cast were against recommended pay-outs for easyJet executives, falling short of the 50pc required to defeat the remuneration report. But the airline said when the 37.4pc stake belonging to Sir Stelios and his family was stripped out, it had the support of 97pc of shareholders on the issue of executive pay. Sir Stelios has questioned the board’s long-term incentive scheme that could see 10 executives awarded shares worth £8m. The bitter war of words between the airline's management and Sir Stelios looks set to continue as the entrepreneur has also threatened to legally challenge the result of the AGM., Sir Stelios issued a statement, pressing for clarification over whether there was a voting agreement between Standard Life Investments (SLI), one of easyJet's biggest institutional investors, and its aircraft supplier Airbus. SLI manages the £4.6bn pension fund of Airbus's parent company EADS. Sir Michael promised ahead of the vote to review the complicated methodology used to calculate directors' rewards - one of the founder’s key concerns. But he condemned Sir Stelios for the “unnecessary, pointless and personalised” attacks on the board through the media. “He does make points that are valid, there’s no doubt about it, but a lot of what has been said is inaccurate or out of context,” Sir Michael said. EasyJet has advised Sir Stelios and his easyGroup company that it has reserved the right to take legal action for potential defamation and breaches of brand agreement. Sir Michael said the airline’s board would “continue to consider the [legal] position through the coming year”. Sir Stelios was represented at the meeting by his communications director, Richard Shackleton. In a statement following the vote, Sir Stelios accused the board of having “bought” shareholders’ votes with its promises to re-consider the return on capital employed (ROCE) method used to decide directors’ pay. “I and other shareholders will hold Mike Rake to the promises made; he will face the consequences if there is no delivery,” Sir Stelios said. “Shareholders know, and the management knows that the ROCE calculation is a sham and needs to be changed so that management can be measured properly and rewards made appropriate to real performance. "I am looking forward to the changes on bonuses that should moderate remuneration in line with the modest financial returns they [directors] are achieving." Several hours after the AGM at easyJet's headquarters at Luton airport, Sir Stelios also threatened to challenge the results of the vote through the courts after he felt he did not receive an adequate response to his queries concerning the relationship between institutional shareholder Standard Life Investments and Airbus. SLI came out in support of the easyJet board several weeks before the AGM but Stelios suggested SLI should abstain from voting due to the fact it manages the £4.6bn pension fund of Airbus's parent company EADS. Stelio has questioned easyJet's 2011 purchase of Airbus craft. Sir Stelios said:“Unless Standard life can categorically confirm that there is no Airbus money in their easyJet stake and that they have no voting agreement with them or their pension fund, within 48 hours, I may have to legally challenge the AGM result given that votes with a conflict of interest have been counted. We are only asking for one clear statement, not wishy washy answers. ” Following the AGM, Sir Michael issued a warning to the Government that it needs to take steps to protect shareholders against an “unscrupulous minority” as it considers the introduction of a binding 75pc shareholder vote on remuneration.
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