‘Excessive’ bonuses under fire at car dealer Pendragon

BOSSES at Britain’s second biggest car dealer have been accused by its top shareholder of cashing in on pandemic shortages with “unwarranted” bonuses.

Hedin Group has vowed to vote against Pendragon’s executive pay policy and the reappointment of Mike Wright, the chairman of its remuneration committee. The Swedish car seller, which owns 27.1pc of Pendragon, said the Nottingham-based car seller’s “abnormal” profit last year was a result of pandemic car shortages.

Anders Hedin, the owner of Hedin Group, said: “Chief executive William Berman was paid an astonishing £3.4m in total in 2021, which is both excessive and unwarranted.

“Pendragon has received Government support over the last two years and its improvement in profitability has been far from unique, as the sector has experienced abnormal levels of profitability due to supply shortages.”

Mr Berman received an £825,000 bonus, while finance chief Mark Willis and chief operating officer Martin Casha were paid bonuses worth £454,000 and £461,000 respectively.

It comes after Pendragon received £64m in Covid-related government support, which it has not repaid.

Car dealers have made record profits since reopening their doors following the pandemic, as prices rose with new and used vehicles in short supply.

This would be Pendragon’s third major shareholder revolt in three years. Other investors could join the rebellion after shareholder advisory Glass Lewis called on them to reject the car dealer group’s pay report, saying it was “inappropriate” having not repaid the Government support money.

Last year 42pc of shareholder votes were cast against the company’s pay deal for top bosses and 41pc voted against reelecting Mike Wright to the board.

Hedin Group is a Swedish-based car dealer. Mr Hedin, its owner, has been critical of Mr Berman’s bonuses since he became a big shareholder in 2019.

A spokesman for Pendragon said: “Pendragon delivered a strong performance last year with new and used car sales ahead of our sector benchmarks, resulting in record underlying profits. The group also continued to make positive progress against its strategy despite operational challenges caused by the pandemic, including lockdowns in the early part of the year.

“The remuneration committee believes the rewards for the executive team and the wider operational management team are commensurate with this performance and in line with the wider sector.”