Top executives at U.K. blue-chip companies are still raking in significant pay rises, despite muted earnings growth and increased shareholder activism.

The figures for 2015 suggest that the average pay for chief executives has been skewed by a few large increases. Median pay for FTSE 100 chief executives was only up by 2 per cent to £3.973 million ($5.2 million) in 2015, according to research by the High Pay Centre.

Sir Martin Sorrell, the founder of advertising giant WPP, topped the high pay league with a £70 million pay packet which sparked a significant protest by shareholders. Tony Pidgeley of property firm Berkeley Group was a distant second with £23 million.