UK fat cats stumble towards obesity

FTSE chiefs' pay packets - up. Company value - down...

The salaries of FTSE 100 chief executives have jumped almost 15 per cent in the last year despite an 18 per cent slump in the index's value. The salary hike represents an increase seven times above the rate of inflation. A survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said the average pay packet for a FTSE chief executive is now £539,000. In addition, the 14.9 per cent pay increase this year compares with a rise of 8.4 per cent in 2000. The rise in total remuneration for FTSE fat cats when bonuses are included is 16.7 per cent - or £781,000 - based on an average bonus package of 40 per cent. Telecoms chiefs enjoyed some of the heftiest salaries, with execs in the computing and engineering sectors receiving some of the highest increases. The findings follow a report by Management Today in July which claimed that UK executives were being paid an average of £100,000 above the European mean. Investors at a number of FTSE firms, including Cable & Wireless and Vodafone, expressed outrage in recent months concerning the multi-million pound bonuses for chief executives. Vodafone CEO Chris Gent was the highest-profile target after the company announced he would receive an options package worth around £12.6m.