The Investment Association is writing to companies asking them what they are doing to alleviate shareholder concerns about how they are run or how senior staff are paid.
Any company in the FTSE All-Share index that received votes of 20 per cent against any resolution or withdrew a resolution in 2017 will receive a letter from the Investment Association.
The companies will be invited to issue a reply detailing how they have tackled shareholder concerns since the vote.
The response would need to be received before the Public Register goes live later this year, so that it can be included alongside the relevant voting data as part of the Public Register.
Chris Cummings, CEO of the Investment Association, said: “Shining a light on how companies are addressing shareholder concerns is key to holding businesses to account. The Public Register, which for the first time will bring together information on shareholder voting with responses from companies, will encourage greater accountability and ultimately change company behaviour.
“We look forward to seeing company’s public responses on the actions they have taken to address the shareholder concern since their meetings before the Public Register goes live at the end of the year.”
Margot James MP, the business minister, said: “While the majority of British companies put responsible practices at the heart of their business, including ensuring pay is in line with performance, there are some that fail to address their shareholders’ concerns about bosses’ pay.
“This register will help to hold those companies to account, as well as giving them a platform to demonstrate what they are doing to address those concerns.”
The Public Register was instigated in response to consultation on corporate governance reform. Its main aim is to scrutinise companies that have received a vote of 20 per cent or more against any resolution from shareholders, or where a resolution has been withdrawn, and establish how companies are responding to their shareholder’s concerns.
