Lendlease hit with first strike over executive pay

The news: Lendlease shareholders have sent a clear message to the company's leaders with a first strike vote against executive pay and protest votes against two directors.

The numbers: Roughly 39.8% of shareholder votes opposed Lendlease's remuneration report, while more than a third voted against the re-election of directors and former banking executives Philip Coffey and Elizabeth Proust. Coffey and Proust have each served on the construction and real estate giant's board for at least half a decade. Roughly a fifth of shareholder votes objected to managing director Tony Lombardo's performance rights allocation, after a full-year result marked by an after-tax statutory loss of $232 million.

The context: Lendlease's FY23 performance was marred by lower property valuations, high interest rates and shifting UK building regulations in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy. It has also struggled to recover from from the Covid-19 pandemic, as its shares plunged from more than $19 in early 2020 to the current price of $6.71.

What they said: "We will take their concerns fully into account as we move forward," Lendlease chair Michael Ullmer told shareholders at the AGM, The Australian reports. “We share our security holders’ disappointment with the company’s recent financial performance."