Punch Taverns shareholders on Wednesday voted down executive remuneration report at their annual meeting, as the Britain’s leading pub company forecast further declines in profit.

More than 55 per cent of shareholders voted against the executive pay awards, forcing the company review its pay policy.  

Punch Taverns, which operates 7,600 pubs across the country, posted a loss of £400 million previous year.

Punch Taverns, which is burdened with a heavy debt of £3.5 billion, said that trading remained difficult since the beginning of this year. The company also foresees lower profits in the near future.

Speaking on the issue, company’s CEO Giles Thorley said, “I’m assuming the worst and hoping for the best. There isn’t much good news on the horizon and we’re being necessarily cautious.”

In the after-hours trading, shares in Punch Taverns slipped 5 per cent to close at 77p-a-share.