£5m goodbye for Abbey chief

ABBEY National chief executive Luqman Arnold could walk away with £5.1m once Spanish suitor Banco Santander Central Hispano buys the business.

Details of Santander's £8.8bn takeover posted to shareholders today reveal that Arnold could pocket as much as £3.5m from share options alone.

He is also due a termination payment of £1.6m when he eventually steps down.

The golden goodbye is likely to be met with anger in the City despite the chief executive's success in sealing what many regard as an adequate takeover price.

Arnold joined Abbey two years ago and was forced to issue a string of disappointing trading updates as he sought to revive the bank.

Pre-empting criticism, an Abbey spokesman said: 'This is all written into Luqman's contract. It may look like a lot of money but what he has done is deliver a very good deal for shareholders.'

Abbey's seven-strong executive board could bag £10.7m when their share options vest after the takeover. The amount will depend on how each director has fared against performance criteria laid down by Abbey's remuneration committee. It will decide the payout in November.

Group operations director Stephen Hester, who is taking over as chief executive of British Land, could receive £2m if all his options vest at a price of 570p.

Santander today reiterated that it hopes to complete the takeover on 12 November.