Pirc urges no vote on Sportingbet

Investors were yesterday urged to vote down Sportingbet's remuneration report and request for authorisation to spend £100,000 on political donations or other political expenditure.

In a critical alert to investors corporate governance consultancy Pirc also urged shareholders to vote against the re-election of non-executive directors Nigel Payne and Sean O'Connor.

Pirc said that in its view there were no "independent representation on the board". In addition, it argued that "none of the audit, remuneration and nomination committees is fully independent".

The corporate governance consultancy, which informs the votes of many big investors including pension funds, also said the executive pay policy was not sufficiently rigorous.