LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
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SPURS HIT FOR SIX TOON SMASH ‘EMBARRASSING’ TOTTENHAM P20
BOSSES EXIT AS ECONOMY STRUGGLES
MONDAY 24 APRIL 2023
ISSUE 3,969
CITYAM.COM
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FTSE 350 FIRMS SEE RECORD JUMP IN CEO TURNOVER JACK BARNETT THE NUMBER of CEO departures among the UK’s top companies more than doubled over the last year, new data has revealed, as boards attempted to insulate their firms from rising prices and interest rate hikes with a change in leadership. Some 38 chief executives of Britain’s largest companies left their roles in 2022, more than double the 18 that departed in 2021, according to advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates. The uptick in CEO turnover has been engineered by a “greater level of change and instability” in the UK economy, Luke Meynell, managing director of Russell Reynolds Associates, said. Departures from the FTSE 350 contributed to just over one in five of every exit last year, while 13 FTSE 100 companies changed leadership. FTSE 250 companies CEO exits climbed to 25 from 10.
Notable exits last year include Jonathan Akeroyd taking the helm at FTSE 100-listed luxury fashion retailer Burberry from Marco Gobbetti, and Pete Redfern being replaced by Jennie Daly at housebuilder Taylor Wimpey. Nick Read also departed as Vodafone’s CEO late last year. “UK companies have experienced a turbulent few years, with the economy recovering more slowly from the pandemic than others in the G7 – and the nation having faced additional challenges from supply chain issues created by Brexit,” Meynell said. “The challenges which CEOs must now address have multiplied considerably... Accordingly, boards worldwide will be considering carefully whether they have the right person in place at the top,” he added. UK firms have been hit by a slowdown in consumer spending and hamstrung by swelling costs.
Inflation surprisingly hit 10.1 per cent in March, down slightly from February’s 10.4 per cent, but remains much higher than in the rest of the rich world. Bank governor Andrew Bailey and co have jacked up borrowing costs 11 times in a row to 4.25 per cent and are expected to send rates to a peak of five per cent. Those factors have squeezed companies, with a separate report out today from EY-Pantheon revealing profit warnings among UK listed firms have hit their highest level since the early days of the Covid-19 crisis. As a result, chief executives may have been at greater risk of losing their job as boards bid to help steady the ship amid the economic turbulence. Many top forecasters have since canned their recession warnings for the British economy this year, but growth is still tipped to be sluggish.
THIRSTY WORK Thousands run in record-breaking London Marathon CITY A.M. REPORTER A RECORD number of runners donned snazzy sportswear and unusual fancy dress outfits yesterday to take part in this year’s London Marathon. Some 49,675 runners registered for this year’s 26.2 mile race, up from the previous record of 43,199 in 2019, with organisers expecting around 48,000 to have crossed the finish line on Sunday.
Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum won the men’s elite heat in 2:01:25 – the second-fastest time in history and a course record for London – while Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan produced a remarkable performance overcoming injury to win the women’s race. Extinction Rebellion protesters, who gathered in the streets nearby for the third day of demonstrations, stuck to their pledge of avoiding disruption to the race.
Hunt for Britain’s next top business lobby begins as CBI crumbles under scandal JESSICA FRANK-KEYES BRITAIN’s biggest companies have been left wondering who will replace the CBI as the country’s top business lobby, after dozens of member firms fled the group late last week. Many major UK firms have now either suspended or ended their
membership with the group, after two women who worked at the CBI made rape allegations, which have been passed to the police. Aviva, Natwest, Vodafone, and Virgin Media O2 were among some of the many companies that said they were terminating their membership of the business group.
Following the exodus, stand-in group BizUK emerged this weekend. Nick Faith, director at public affairs firm WPI Strategy, wrote to FTSE 100 firms announcing the new body. “It is clear that businesses operating in the UK need an independent, cross-sector
organisation which can ensure they can continue to meet and work constructively with political decision-makers,” Faith wrote, adding the organisation would be “hopefully temporary”. Other ideas have also emerged, including that of the former head of the Institute of Directors Simon
Walker, who has called for a single supergroup composed of the UK’s top five business lobbies. “It’s time for a reboot but it risks there being too many voices. I think it’s a moment for consolidation,” one senior City figure told City A.M. £ CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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