M&S lists concessions to shareholders

M&S has offered concession to appease shareholders

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Marks & Spencer has drawn up a list of concessions to help appease shareholders who are angry about Sir Stuart Rose's promotion to the dual role of executive chairman and chief executive.

Current M&S chairman Lord Burns has sent a 10-page letter to shareholders which proposes that Rose should stand for re-election to the board every year. This effectively paves the way for a vote of confidence at M&S' annual general meeting in July.

M&S has also backtracked on a proposed pay rise for Rose and said the company will revert to the conventional model of chairman and chief executive after July 2011.

Rose's role as chairman and that of new deputy chairman David Michels will be clearly differentiated, and the company said it will appoint a non-executive director, with the board considering the appointment of a further non-executive director in the future.

The letter adds that the board believes the arrangements to be "a sensible way forward".

Separately M&S investor Invesco Perpetual has backed Rose's promotion - the first to publicly back the move since it was announced last month. Invesco Perpetual is one of the fashion retailer's biggest investors with a stake of around 5%.

Head of investment Neil Woodford said: "It is entirely appropriate for the M&S board to have taken the decision they heave reached with regard to Stuart Rose."

Woodford added: "It is especially important to create an executive structure that maintains Stuart's leadership of the business but that also enables him to bring on successor talent such that at the appropriate time he can step down. In the current environment particularly this has to be the right commercial decision for the company and its shareholders."