CITY WHISPERS: Mutiny at the bounty of shipbroker’s pay policy

If one shareholder’s rebellion is hurtful, a second one can be called painful… but what about a seventh?

Clarkson, the FTSE 250 shipbroker, now has the dubious honor of having caused a riot at every annual meeting since 2017.

Nearly 44 percent of votes cast at this year’s event opposed last year’s pay settlement, and the same percentage opposed pay policies — or the conditions it places on earnings — for years to come.

Andi Case, Clarkson’s boss, can’t feel too hard done by – he took home more than £10 million.

The company, which says it is in talks with shareholders about compensation plans, is far from the only company to experience setbacks this year. Ocado and Plus500 have also been in the firing line.

And get your popcorn ready: there’s a slew of annual corporate meetings to come.

L&G AGM becomes Sir Nigel Wilson’s swan song

Legal & General will host what will almost certainly be Sir Nigel Wilson’s swan song annual meeting on Thursday.

The 66-year-old CEO said in January he would retire from the fund management titan but could stay until a replacement was found.

But Wilson could also face a backlash, with proxy adviser Pirc pushing for a vote against L&G’s wage settlement.

He made £4 million last year and has paid £41 million since taking over in 2012.

Be that as it may, at least he is ready for a comfortable retirement.

What connects Erin Brockovich’s film to the Yorkshire-based engineering firm?

Chemical enthusiasts may know that the answer is hexavalent chromium.

It was at the center of the case led by the real-life Erin Brockovich to compensate locals in the California town of Hinkley who were exposed to high levels of the carcinogen in groundwater.

Langver, whose website says it has only 26 employees, has developed an alternative coating for the ratchet tensioners used in the transport and logistics industry.

While this is a niche product, Langver is ahead of a UK and EU ban on hexavalent chromium that will come into effect in 2024.

Cheers to British engineers who punch above their weight.

Takeover fever strikes

Takeover fever hit last week when the deadlines for bids for Dechra Pharmaceuticals and Network International were extended.

And on Friday, it was announced that private equity group Apollo and Matt Molding’s online beauty group THG had abandoned deal talks.

The deals with Dechra and Network International were able to go through, but the decisions that were delayed fizzled out in a dramatic few weeks that saw a spate of attacks on London-listed companies.

All eyes will be on Wood Group on Wednesday as Apollo has to work out with the company until then whether a £1.7bn bid can go through.

As the fifth move Apollo has made on Wood Group, it’s certainly excited.