Burberry finance chief hands back £1.6m shares

BURBERRY has sought to quell an investor revolt over executive pay by cutting the bonus of its new finance director.

Julie Brown, who joined in January, was due to get a large share award to make up for the bonus she lost leaving wound care specialist Smith & Nephew.

But she handed £1.6m of the award back after shareholder advisory group ISS said Smith & Nephew executives had received a smaller award than the one the Burberry board assumed she was giving up.

The Investment Association yesterday urged investors to vote against Burberry’s report on compensation in July.