BCA trading in line as CEO bonus under the spotlight

Car auction group BCA Marketplace, which owns We Buy Any Car, said the current year had "started strongly" in line with forecasts.

In a statement ahead of its annual meeting, BCA said it continued to "trade and grow in line with its strategic, operational and financial expectations".

"The year has started strongly, and the board remains confident in the group's prospects for the financial year and its continued development plans for the future," it added.

The spotlight will be on chief executive Avril Palmer-Baunack, who has been awarded a bonus of £29m.

Palmer-Baunack had been singled out in a report designed to influence shareholders at the meeting, the Times reported.

Glass Lewis, a shareholder advisory group, declared that the bonus was “exceptionally disproportionate”. It is 59 times her salary and is thought to be one of the highest awards made to a British businesswoman. Her basic salary was also raised by 8%, to £525,000, The Mail On Sunday reported.

The bonus arose as part of a £50m shares windfall for a small number of senior directors at BCA Marketplace.