By Kylar Loussikian and Dominic Powell
Billionaire rag trader Solomon Lew has voted his sizeable shareholding in Myer against its proposals for executive pay and the re-election of two of the department store's directors.
Mr Lew, the chairman of Premier Investments and the company's largest shareholder, has wound back his public criticism of Myer after a two-year high-profile campaign against the retailer.
Sources close to Mr Lew said he had on Monday voted his 10.8 per cent shareholding in Myer against the company's remuneration report as well as the re-election of Jacquie Naylor and JoAnne Stephenson to the board.
However, he had voted in favour of granting performance options based on long-term performance to Myer's chief executive John King ahead of the company's annual general meeting on Thursday.
Mr Lew has been a prominent critic of Myer after taking a $101 million investment in the department chain in early 2017 at $1.15 a share. Myer shares closed at 56¢ yesterday.
Mr Lew's aggressive campaign against the company's board - which culminated in a showdown between his legal team and Myer chairman Garry Hounsell at last year's annual general meeting - left the company with two strikes against its executive remuneration. A strike is recorded when more than 25 per cent of shareholders vote against a remuneration report sparking a vote on spilling the company's board.
Premier Investments chairman Solomon Lew has voted against Myer's remuneration report.Credit: Eddie Jim
A spill motion against Myer's board failed to reach the 50 per cent benchmark required after shareholders, including Investors Mutual and Wilson Asset Management, backed the company's directors.
Mr Lew has previously said Myer's board was "an absolute disgrace" and "clueless". A spokesman for Mr Lew declined to comment on Monday.
Wilson Asset Management fund manager Geoff Wilson, who controls a 7.8 per cent stake in Myer, said he would continue to back Mr Hounsell and the company's chief executive John King.
Although, he acknowledged many shareholders remained unimpressed with Myer's performance.
"We’ve increased our position over the last 12 months as we grow in confidence that John [King] can improve the profitability of the business," Mr Wilson said.
"Our current intention, though that may change, is to support [the performance options and the remuneration report]."
Thursday's company meeting is expected to be less confrontational after two major proxy advisors endorsed this year's remuneration report following changes to the pay of top executives.
Institutional Shareholder Services and CGI Glass Lewis earlier this month endorsed the new pay structure which switched short-term incentives to shares rather than cash and agreed to compare the remuneration with those of executives at retailers including JB Hi-Fi and Coles.
It comes as Myer lost a class action brought by investors who claimed they lost money because the company misled them over profit forecasts.
Despite finding the retailer misled investors when it failed to confess it would miss its 2015 forecasts, the Federal Court also found the deception didn't cause any losses.
However, Mr Wilson said the court's decision could fuel shareholder discontent at Wednesday's meeting, labelling it "another annoyance" for longstanding Myer investors.
Meanwhile, JP Morgan analyst Shaun Cousins last month wrote that he remained "confident on turnaround" with changes to the store network, the range of brands and lower costs.
The retailer reported sales of $2.99 billion for the financial year -down 3.5 per cent - while profits rose 2.2 per cent to $33.2 million.