Shareholders urged to act by lobby group

Sainsbury's shareholders will be urged to contest a new pay deal offered to chief executive Justin King at its AGM today.Corporate governance lobby group Pirc is concerned about the 'potentially excessive' rewards on offer.Last month, King was awarded a 17 per cent pay rise, following strong full-year profits. Including his bonus, he could earn more than£2.3 million this year, up from£1.9 million in 2006. At the time, the supermarket said King's basic pay had fallen significantly behind the average for senior executives. The group is also understood to have raised King's salary to convince him to stay on at the grocer following the failed takeover bid by private equity giant CVC earlier this year.