Investors back easyJet board in pay battle with Sir Stelios

Airline founder takes fight against 'fat cat City bonus culture' to AGM wireThe board of easyJet has won the backing of its biggest institutional investors in its battle with Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the airline's founder and former owner, over controversial pay packages.Standard Life, M&G and Sanderson, which hold 17.5% of the shares between them, have committed to approve the bonuses and re-elect the directors at the annual meeting on 23 February.However, Sir Stelios's hand will have been strengthened by a critical report from PIRC, the independent investment consultancy, which advised shareholders to abstain on re-electing the chairman and to reject the remuneration report. PIRC said the level of remuneration was excessive while "an undue level of complexity" made it hard for shareholders to assess how bonuses were earned. An American shareholder adviser, Glass Lewis, has also urged investors to vote against accepting the pay report.Sir Michael Rake, easyJet's chairman, said the ai