Cazenove opens up on top pay

ONE OF the longest running City mysteries - the size of pay packets at the secretive house of Cazenove - was solved today, as the top broking house issued an annual report for the first time.

Executive chairman David Mayhew was paid £520,000 in the year to April, while the highest-paid executive at the Tokenhouse Yard HQ was John Paynter, deputy chairman and head of the capital markets division, who received £603,000.

Former Lazards veteran David Verey received £324,000 for his first five months' work. He subsequently quit after a personality clash with Mayhew.

Robert Pickering, the 42-year-old chief executive, was paid £580,000. His rival for the post, Nigel Rowe, who retired in April because of ill-health, received £602,000. The base pay of all executives was £125,000, supplemented by bonuses, which were significantly down because of lower profits.

Profits before tax and exceptionals slid by a third to £60m in what Mayhew described as 'the worst downturn in investment banking for many years'. Difficult market conditions would persist for some time, he added.

Investment banking income was down 13% to £256m while fund management income slipped 18% to £49m. After giving away £77m of free shares to the staff, Cazenove reported a post-exceptional loss of £20m.

Cazenove is having to be more open as a precursor to a planned float next year. Pickering said plans were continuing to meet the original timetable of coming to the stock market next April, although hostile market conditions could derail it. He said: '[Transparency and openness are what people are looking for. The world's moved on. There's no point complaining about it.'