BCA Marketplace executive chairman Avril Palmer-Baunack appeared on the pages of national newspapers over the weekend in relation to the payment of a £29m shares bonus branded ‘exceptionally disproportionate’.

Palmer-Baunack, who joined the auction specialist and WeBuyAnyCar owner back in 2014, is understood to be in-line to receive the shares bonus as part of part of a £50m shares plan involving a clutch of senior directors at BCA Marketplace as an incentive to drive the business’ growth.

The £29 million bonus, which AM understands will be subject to a vote among shareholders at BCA this week, is said to be linked to an increase in the remarketing specialist’s share price.

But in a report to investors, influential advisory firm Glass Lewis called the £29 million payout to Palmer-Baunack ‘exceptionally disproportionate’.

It said the increase in the value of BCA may have been boosted by broader swings in stock market prices ‘rather than company or management performance’.

The Times reported that Palmer-Braunack, who ran haulier Stobart for a period, had been rewarded for steering BCA to the stock market two years ago.

In 2014, the auto industry veteran floated an investment vehicle, Haversham Holdings, on the stock market, raising £30m from City investors, it reported.

The following year, Haversham bought BCA from buyout firm Clayton, Dubillier & Rice through a £1.2bn reverse takeover.