Investors bottle up anger over Coca-Cola bonus

COCA-Cola HBC’s boss pocketed more than £320,000 in ‘cost of living’ benefits last year as part of his £4.4million package.

Zoran Bogdanovic, chief executive of the soft drink bottling company, received the unusual payment alongside his salary, bonuses and other perks. He was handed a total of £580,000 in benefits.

As well as the ‘cost of living and foreign exchange rate adjustment’ of £320,000, he also received a housing allowance of £91,000, private medical insurance, a ‘home trip allowance’ and a ‘partner allowance’ of £860.

The company, which was founded in Greece, is a big bottler for Coca-Cola and is a member of the FTSE 100 index.

As such, its shares are automatically included in tracker funds, which are popular with private investors.

Croatian-born Bogdanovic, who has led Coca-Cola HBC since 2017, has been given £800,000 in ‘cost of living’ handouts over the past three years. He has taken home £12 million in total pay over the same period.

His rewards will come under scrutiny from shareholders at the FTSE 100 company’s annual meeting next week. One third of participating shareholders voted against his pay package last year.

The £10.3billion company – whose shares rose by a fifth in 2023 – is listed in London but its headquarters are in Zug, in Switzerland.

The Mail on Sunday’s Fat Cat Files last year revealed the lavish perks received by the well-paid bosses of some of Britain’s biggest companies. These include designer clothes, club memberships and home security costs.

London-listed firms have already fallen prey to shareholder revolts this year, including online trading firm Plus 500 and shipping broker Clarkson.

Education group Pearson, pharma giant AstraZeneca and medical devices group Smith & Nephew were also bruised by hefty rebellions.