Shareholders thump Shoprite

Engelbrecht said: “In the last two years we have engaged with investors on a oneon-one basis to address concerns like the compilation of the board, our remuneration policy and the capital structure.

“Changes to the capital structure are not for management to decide upon and must be voted on by shareholders, guided by the lead independent director, Edward Kieswetter.”

Kieswetter chairs Shoprite’s remuneration committee. He’s unlikely to remain in this position, given his recent appointment as the South African Revenue Service commissioner.

Thibault voted in favour of all resolutions at the 2018 AGM. Exclude the 13.91% in ordinary shares Wiese holds directly, which presumably also voted in favour, and barely 13% of shareholders voted in favour of the remuneration policy (with only 17.5% in favour of its implementation).

It’s almost certain all major shareholders, including the Public Investment Corporation (holds 11.41%), voted against the non-binding remuneration resolutions.

Under JSE regulations, Shoprite in November then invited dissenting shareholders to “forward their concerns/questions on the remuneration policy and the implementation thereof to the company secretary”. It said “meetings will be arranged with individual dissenting shareholders to discuss their concerns/questions”.

Shoprite has provided no further feedback to the market. The group has been under pressure on remuneration for years.