The High Pay Centre (HPC), a thinktank that for over a decade exposed the excesses of CEO pay and the widening gap between top executives and average workers, is shutting down. The closure follows the abrupt termination of its main funder, the Financial Fairness Trust, by Aberdeen Group, a wealth management firm.
Thinktank's unique focus on predistribution
Founded in 2011 by former Guardian business editor Deborah Hargreaves, the HPC focused on analysis of extreme pay at the top and the origins of inequality in pay and control over pay rates. Its annual report on CEO pay consistently garnered media attention, including from rightwing outlets, by highlighting the stark disparity: this year, the median FTSE 100 CEO earned £4.4m, taking less than two and a half days in January to match what a median full-time employee earns in a year.
UK's inequality and corporate governance
The HPC documented that UK incomes are the second most unequal among rich countries, surpassed only by the US. It analyzed how corporate governance systems underpin this dysfunction. Unlike 13 EU countries plus Norway, where employee representation on boards is legally required, no FTSE 100 company has appointed a worker director. The HPC found that only 55% of FTSE 100 companies pay the living wage advocated by the Living Wage Foundation.
Funding cut and closure
The HPC is the first victim of aggressive action by Aberdeen Group, which terminated the Financial Fairness Trust a year ago, sacking its CEO and trustees. The trust was founded with a £90m windfall from Standard Life's demutualisation, chaired by former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling. It funded research organizations including the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Resolution Foundation, and Child Poverty Action Group. Paul Johnson, former IFS director, called the trust 'a crucial part of the UK's research funding infrastructure.'
After Darling's death in 2023, Aberdeen axed the trust, stating it was 'moving in another direction.' The renamed Aberdeen Group Charitable Trust now supports nature and employment, not inequality research.
Political and corporate context
The closure reflects a broader backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, influenced by US corporate trends. Over half of UK businesses changed their DEI approach last year, according to People Management. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to abolish the public sector equality duty.
Despite outrage from figures like Martin Lewis, Aberdeen Group has thrived, reporting record net flows of £3.7bn in Q2 2024, a 50% increase. David Norgrove, former trust chair, called Aberdeen's behavior 'shoddy, abrupt, rude, ungracious.'
Final report and future
Andrew Speke, the HPC's last employee, will close its doors after releasing a final report showing CEO pay at its highest and the pay gap at its widest. Patriotic Millionaires has urged donations to save the HPC, but without intervention, top CEOs will face no annual embarrassment on 'fat cat day.'
