Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner has received almost £100m in payouts since the online grocer floated in 2010, despite its share price now sitting below its IPO level.

Analysis of Ocado’s annual reports by the High Pay Centre found the co-founder has collected £94m in pay and share awards since the business listed on the stock market.

The campaign group said the figure raised “serious concerns about proportionality, accountability and fairness” in the company’s pay-setting process.

High Pay Centre head of research Paddy Goffey said Steiner’s remuneration highlighted a wider issue in UK executive pay, where reward packages can be driven by “sporadic, outsized awards” rather than long-term company performance.

Steiner’s biggest payout came in 2019, when he received almost £59m, largely linked to a series of international deals to sell Ocado’s grocery-picking technology to overseas retailers.

The scrutiny comes amid reports over Steiner’s future at the business, with Ocado understood to have sounded out potential successors.

Sky News reported last week that the board had approached Niklas Heuveldop, chief executive of Vonage, which is owned by Ericsson. It is not clear how advanced the process is, or whether Heuveldop is the preferred candidate.

Ocado said earlier this week: “The chief executive and the board continually engage in long-term succession planning and regularly engage with potential candidates.”

Steiner co-founded Ocado in 2000 and led its stock market flotation a decade later. He has overseen major partnerships with Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and, more recently, Asda, as the business shifted from online grocery into retail technology.

However, the company has faced mounting pressure over its share price and the performance of its automated warehouse technology arm.

Ocado shares fell last week following reports of a potential leadership change, dropping as low as 172p, below the 180p flotation price in 2010.

The stock has fallen more than 90 per cent over the past five years, after hitting almost £28 during the pandemic as online grocery demand surged.

Its technology business has also suffered setbacks, with US partner Kroger announcing last year it would close three warehouses using Ocado equipment. Canadian partner Sobeys later confirmed it would shut its Calgary facility.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter