May 26 (Reuters) - Martin Sorrell, boss of advertising groupWPP, has got backing from a leading investor advisoryfirm for his 70 million pound ($102.95 million) pay for 2015.
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has advised WPP'sshareholders to approve Sorrell's pay at the company's annualmeeting on June 8, saying a large chunk of the pay is related toWPP's performance during the year.
ISS said: "We highlight that the bulk of the CEO's 2015headline realised pay number is largely driven by hisparticipation in ... a plan which shareholders approved by acomfortable margin ... in 2009 and in part reflects thecompany's run of extended strong performance."
"The company has also outperformed its global peers on arelative basis, as required by the performance conditions of thescheme," ISS said in a statement.
WPP, the world's biggest advertising agency, declined tocomment.
WPP, which owns advertising companies like JWT and Ogilvy &Mather, has clashed with investors before over the size ofSorrell's pay deal.
In 2012, a majority of WPP shareholders voted againstSorrell's pay, but last year Sorrell saw off a potentialshareholder revolt over his 43 million pound pay for 2014.
He has built WPP from a two-man operation in a London officeto one that now dominates the industry with around 190,000 staffin 112 countries.
The company has outperformed rivals in recent years due toits geographical spread and digital marketing experience.
Other big British companies have faced shareholderopposition to executive pay packages this year in a resurgenceof investor activism against excessive boardroom salaries.
Last month, shareholders in BP voted against ChiefExecutive Bob Dudley's $20 million pay deal for 2015 after itmade a record annual loss.
Shareholders in Scottish engineering Weir Group andmedical equipment firm Smith & Nephew also rejected their2015 payouts in non-binding votes.
A recent Reuters analysis of executive pay at Britain's topcompanies showed that the average pay of CEOs fell in 2015, buta deeper slide in corporate profits meant their cut of thespoils continued a decade-long rising trend. ($1 = 0.6799 pounds) (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Jane Merriman)