Sly’s departure from Trinity is eased by £1m compromise deal

Sly Bailey struck a £1 million “compromise agreement” to smooth her exit from the top of one of Britain’s biggest newspaper publishers.

The departing chief executive of Trinity Mirror, publisher of the Daily Mirror and The People, will pick up the pay-off for being a good leaver after a row with shareholders about her excessive pay package boiled over last night.

Bailey has run Trinity for nearly a decade, gaining a fearsome reputation for slashing costs. But frustrated investors have seen the company’s share price slide by 90 per cent in the time she has pocketed £14 million in salary and bonuses.

“There is a compromise agreement in place,” confirmed David Grigson, the board director who takes over as Trinity’s chairman in August. “We will share the details of that as and when. Sly is continuing to work for us on her existing terms so we will see how it pans out from here.

“We expect to have her at the helm until the end of the year and everyone is focused on delivering the best outcome that we can and setting up the company for Sly’s successor.”

Investors were pressing to reduce Bailey’s pay in line with the shrunken size of the company. Her basic salary remains at £750,000. Her exit follows a string of shareholder revolts over pay at companies including Barclays and Aviva.

Mr Grigson ruled out either a break-up or change of strategy for Trinity.