Investor revolt over Virgin’s pay rises

VIRGIN Money has been dealt a bloody nose by shareholders over a £100,000 pay rise for finance chief Peter Bole.

The bank, currently facing a £1.6bn takeover bid, suffered a 15pc vote against bosses’ pay at its annual meeting yesterday.

It is a significant blow for Virgin Money, which seeks to present itself as a more customer-friendly alternative to the big High Street banks.

Bole, 48, was poached from Tesco Bank in July last year and earned £786,000 at Virgin Money from then until the end of the year.

This included a £241,000 bonus and £282,000 to compensate him for payouts he gave up when he jumped ship. He also got £44,000 towards his pension and a £219,000 base salary.

This year he will pocket another £100,000 in shares as part of an extra fixed payment, pushing his total earnings up by 20pc.

As a result, shareholder advisory group ISS urged investors to vote against the company’s pay report, triggering the rebellion.

It comes as Virgin Money mulls a takeover offer from rival Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking Group.

Its shares fell 3.3pc, or 11.3p, to 332p.