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JD Sports Fashion plc (JD Sports) on 31 December 2021 that it is to make additional amendments to its remuneration structures in the future as part of its new remuneration policy, in an effort to further align its executive pay with the long term interests of its shareholders.

The announcement follows an investor revolt at JD Sports’ on 1 July 2021, which not only saw considerable shareholder dissent against the company’s remuneration report and remuneration policy (31.5% and 20.0% of investor votes being cast against the report and policy respectively), but also the ousting of non-executive director and remuneration committee chair, Andrew Leslie. Although Leslie received 78.0% of votes in favour of his re-election from all investors, a separate vote on his re-election, exclusively for independent shareholders, fell short of the majority required (54.7% of votes being cast against).

Despite 20.0% opposition to its 2021 remuneration policy, in its recent announcement JD Sports has chosen to interpret this as a vindication of its ongoing engagement with shareholders, and a ‘significant improvement’ on the year before, when 32.5% of votes were against its 2020 remuneration policy. However, JD Sports’ engagement strategy has done little to quell opposition against its remuneration report, which has flatlined (31.1% and 31.5% of votes being cast against the report in 2020 and 2021 respectively). JD Sports hopes that the additional amendments to its remuneration structures in its upcoming remuneration policy will prove enough to appease investors, and that ‘support…for the remuneration report will increase once these changes are fulfilled’.

The company’s recent announcement also states that it is yet to elect a permanent replacement for Leslie, with non-executive director, Kath Smith, acting as interim chair since the company’s 2021 AGM. However, JD Sports notes that it has since appointed three new independent non-executive directors to its Board.