Investors to vote against Sports Direct pay package

The Telegraph understands that investors representing at least 18pc of Sports Direct’s 38pc free-float are unhappy with the revised scheme, and will vote "no" at a shareholder meeting scheduled for July 2.

The scheme - which would see the granting of 25m shares, worth £188m at the current price, to 3,000 full-time staff including Mr Ashley - is the third such proposed by the company in relatively quick succession.

Following the failure of the second mooted scheme - which would have involved a payment of more than £70m - representatives of the Association of British Insurers arranged a meeting between six leading shareholders and chairman Keith Hellawell and senior independent director Simon Bentley.

Despite assurances received at the meeting that the company would listen to investors and would only propose bonus schemes with limits for executive management, the retailer launched its latest scheme at the start of June.

“With no criteria at all as to allocation or criteria of allocation or individual limits, this scheme is a real problem,” said Robert Hingley, director of investment affairs at the ABI.

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