JP Garnier, the head of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), who has had a fraught relationship with investors over his pay, will bow out of the pharmaceutical giant on a sour note after being granted options that could entitle him to be paid up to £2.5 million long after his retirement.

It emerged yesterday that Dr Garnier, who will retire next month, was granted share options last year after saying in 2006 that he planned to retire. The options will not pay out until the end of the 2009-10 financial year, even though any improvement in the share price will be on the watch of Andrew Witty, GSK’s European head, who is to become chief executive.

Dr Garnier angered investors in 2002, soon after he joined the company, over an incentive scheme that could have paid him $18 million (£9.1 million). The American-style remuneration package so infuriated investors that they voted it down at the annual meeting. At the eleventh hour the scheme was pulled to appease investors who were enraged by the package, given the company’s poor share price performance since it was created in 2000.

A GSK spokesman confirmed that Dr Garnier’s options were granted last year. No options have been granted this year. “JP will keep options and share awards granted up to the end of 2007, which are subject to performance criteria,” the spokesman said.

Dr Garnier, who has amassed a pension pot of £8.1 million, holds about £6 million in company stock.

Golden goodbyes have been an issue at several big companies. Marks & Spencer is paying Lord Burns, its chairman, £450,000 for stepping aside to let Sir Stuart Rose become executive chairman, a move that has incensed investors. Ben Verwaayen, the BT chief executive, will receive a payment of £700,000, on top of about £4 million in performance shares, when he steps down in June.

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