Compass Group chief executive Mike Bailey had the highest basic salary in 2003/2004 among 20 leisure companies surveyed in the latest Pay for Performance report. Hilton boss David Michels received the biggest total pay package, however.
The study, based on company annual reports, was conducted between November 2004 and mid-March 2005 and refers to the 2003/2004 period.
Bailey's £930,000 salary put him nearly £300,000 ahead of Michels, his nearest rival, who took home a basic £633,000.
Total remuneration, which includes bonuses, shows a different picture. Bailey waived his bonus after failing to hit financial targets, putting him behind both Michels, who received a £1m-package, and John Wilson, the former chief executive at Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) hotels, whose £956,000 included a golden handshake, despite a 69% fall in profits.
When bonuses, pensions, share options and fringe benefits, such as company cars, were included, Michels's total earnings of £1.87m put him comfortably at the top of the pay league.
The biggest percentage increase in basic salary went to Wilson at M&C, who retired in March 2004. He enjoyed a 14.5% rise.
The biggest bonuses as a percentage of total remuneration were found at pub groups Punch, where Giles Thorley's bonus represented 45.9% of his total £607,700 package, and at Mitchells & Butlers, where Tim Clarke's bonus accounted for 42.9% of his £892,000 remuneration.
Falling just below the £1m mark in terms of total earnings were Wilson (with a total earnings of £996,000) and Clarke at £916,000. The lowest-paid executive on the list was Andrew Page, managing director at The Restaurant Group, whose basic salary was £179,000, down 14.5% on the previous year.
The report found that overall staffing costs had been cut over the past five years, while average salaries had remained static.
The Pay For Performance report is available from its author Janet Salmon, costing £220 (tel: 020 8332 1594).