Berkeley investors urged to turn down chiefs' pay

Shareholders in housebuilder Berkeley have been urged to vote down its remuneration report ahead of the company's AGM on Monday.

The voting adviser Pirc, which counts some of Britain's biggest pension schemes among its clients, has sharply criticised the company's long-term incentive schemes for what it says are a lack of performance hurdles before executives receive bumper payments.

Its latest Pirc Alerts update highlights the 2009 "part A" scheme which has "no performance conditions attached to it, with payments instead linked simply to executive directors remaining employed at the company".

Part B of the same scheme is linked to the company's net asset value per share.

Pirc is also critical of the 2011 scheme which rewards executives for returning money to shareholders. It says this is a basic duty which should not result in extra pay.

Sources close to the company argued that other voting advisers had not raised objections to the schemes.