Ailing QXL's boss gets 20% pay rise

JIM ROSE, the man who oversaw QXL's plunge from stock market grace, reaped a 20% rise in his pay to £253,000 for last year.

The bumper pay packet included a £15,000 bonus for the year to 31 March, during which time the online auctioneer's share price bumped along at, or close to, its all-time low of just 0.38p. It is now worth £3 million compared with £2.5 billion in 2000.

Rose, who brought QXL to market in a £240 million float in 1999, spent only seven months of the year in an executive capacity. He switched to a non-executive role in November but was still paid at his executive rate until June this year. QXL made a £40 million loss for the year.