Beazley: ensuring its directors are well paid

By Jonathan Russell, City Diary Editor Published: 3:56PM GMT 19 Feb 2010

First stop is Beazley, the "specialist insurance business" the company does terrorism cover alongside marine and commercial property, that kind of thing. Things have been going well. Investors saw profit before tax rise 15pc last year, which is good, but not quite as good as the return chief executive Andrew Horton enjoyed.

According to the companys latest annual report, he took home £1.5m last year, up from £782,021 in 2008 when he was the finance director.

Lux-Pain review

All told, the 14 directors on the company board saw their pay rise from £4.8m to £7.8m over the period.

I wonder if shareholders can take out insurance against having to pay those kinds of pay increases?

Living on a prayer

I fear Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer, presenters of Channel 4s property shop window Location, Location, Location may have missed a trick.

The pair have been accused of ramping up property prices in the past through their endless quest to mine our national obsession for bricks and mortar. Well, if they were trying to, theyve got a long way to go.

According to Arab News, land around the Grand Mosque in Makkah (Mecca) is selling for up to $133,000 (£85,033) per square metre.

Just to give you an idea, there is a one-acre plot of land in Chelsea, thought to be the most expensive ever marketed in the UK, which is being sold for close to £50m. That works out at around £12,500 per square metre. You see we have got some way to go.

Oh, and in case you are interested, I understand the Chelsea plot is already under offer, to a foreign buyer.

Oil money perhaps?

Lloyds charity: its money in the bank

Just to show there is some restraint in the finance sector, I offer this snippet. Lloyds Banking Group"s charitable trust has appointed headhunters CFA to find two new trustees for the charitable foundation that each year gives around £30m a year of the banks profits to community projects a conscience fund to offset corporate excess.

The commitment is two days a month. As a non-executive director of the bank, that would be worth £65,000 a year; the trustee job, however, is "unremunerated".

Now, given that headhunters normally get paid 30pc to 50pc of their recruits first years salary, you have to wonder what CFA is getting.

Either way I imagine its a lot less than the £1m basic salary Lloyds boss Eric Daniels takes home.

Tulchan boss Grant listens to his art

The information weve all been waiting for.

On Thursday, I wrote about Andrew Grant, the boss of City spinners Tulchan, and his burning love of art.

The man was pictured in his latest company brochure with his hand on a large white sculpture extolling the value of art. Unfortunately, when I called him to ask what the piece was he couldnt remember.

It came back to him though. Its a work by Jonathan Kemp and its called a "listening pot".

"Very apt" for a PR company, as Mr Grant points out to me.

Painting fine picture of company names

More company names for you, lots more.

Following on from my magnificent monikers series, Im told of a solicitor in South Harrow (that I presume was set up by Mr Sharp) called Sharps Practice; a bed and mattress shop in Gateshead called Beddy Buys; a ready-mix concrete firm called Jimll Mix It; and, not a name this, but a slogan on the side of septic tank lorry that reads "the motion is carried"; finally there is apparently a hairdresser in North Shields called Van Gogh.

I hope Im not the only one who had to take a minute to work that last one out.

SJ Berwin trying to dominate market

I see the lawyers at SJ Berwin are advertising for recruits to a Dominance Workshop they are holding next month.

Ill leave you to decide what thats all about.

jonathan.russell@telegraph.co.uk