Pay for Britain’s top executives has hit a new record, with more FTSE 100 bosses receiving packages worth £10m or more amid rising concern about pay inequality and shareholder resistance.

Median pay for chief executives at the UK’s largest listed companies climbed to £4.58m in the 2024–25 financial year, according to the High Pay Centre. That marks a 6.8% increase on the previous year and the highest level since records began.

The average FTSE 100 boss now earns 122 times more than the median UK full-time worker, the thinktank found, extending a gulf that campaigners say is damaging staff morale and public trust in business.

Thirteen companies paid their chief executives more than £10m last year – up from 10 the year before. Among the highest earners were AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, who received £14.7m, and Melrose Industries boss Peter Dilnot, whose £45.5m pay and bonus package provoked a backlash from investors this spring. Rolls-Royce’s Tufan Erginbilgic, by contrast, saw his package fall by almost £10m to £4.1m after a reduction in share awards.

On a mean basis, executive pay jumped by more than 15% to £5.91m, surpassing the previous record of £5.79m set in 2017–18.

Women still make up a small minority of FTSE 100 leaders, with nine female chief executives holding the role throughout the year. Their median pay stood at £3.27m, substantially below the male average.

The High Pay Centre said the findings underscored the need for stronger rules to rein in “excessive spending on top earners”. It has urged the government to press ahead with reforms, including new transparency requirements on executive pay and measures to give trade unions greater access to workplaces.

Supporters of high pay argue that global competition for top talent makes multi-million-pound packages inevitable, particularly in industries such as pharmaceuticals and aerospace. But critics say the figures highlight a corporate culture increasingly out of step with stagnant wages for ordinary workers.

Luke Hildyard, the High Pay Centre’s director, said: “Year after year, CEO pay at Britain’s biggest companies breaks new records while many households struggle with rising living costs. This is a clear sign that corporate Britain has its priorities badly skewed.”

The issue of executive remuneration has become a flashpoint for shareholders, too. Earlier this year investors rejected Melrose Industries’ plans for £200m in long-term incentive awards for directors, one of several high-profile shareholder revolts on pay.

How the gap has grown
In the mid-1990s, FTSE 100 bosses typically earned around 45 times the average UK worker. By 2008, the ratio had jumped to more than 100-to-one. Today’s figure of 122-to-one underlines how quickly boardroom pay has outpaced wages on the shop floor, fuelling concerns about inequality and the ability of ordinary households to share in corporate success.