In an announcement to the stock exchange on 26 January 2017 the tobacco giant behind the JPS and Golden Virginia brands said that it would not put forward its new pay policy to a vote as previously planned.

The pay policy, which is voted on every three years, would have increased Cooper’s pay from £5.5m to £8.5m due to bonuses.

Finance director Oliver Tant and chief development officer Matthew Phillip’s pay would have also increased.

Chairman, Mark Williamson, said: ‘We have been actively engaging with shareholders for some time and while we received considerable support, it is clear that views have changed over that time and that the right course of action now is for the board to withdraw the resolution

‘The board continues to believe that revising the policy is necessary for retaining and attracting the right calibre of talent to ensure the continued sustainable growth of the business and we will re-engage with shareholders to reach a consensus on this important issue.’

Last year, Theresa May pledged to crackdown on top tier pay levels describing ‘an unhealthy and growing gap’ between what the UK’s largest companies pay their workers and what they pay their bosses.

The average pay ratio between FTSE 100 CEOs and the average wage of their employees is 140:1.

May said: ‘I want to make shareholder votes on corporate pay not just advisory but binding. I want to see more transparency, including the full disclosure of bonus targets and the publication of “pay multiple” data: that is, the ratio between the CEO’s pay and the average company worker’s pay.’

In 2015, the average pay for a FTSE CEO increased by 10% to £5.48m for £4.96m in 2014 however, shareholder dissatisfaction with companies’ top level pay rates is increasing.