Donegal native talks tough and gets results

Gerry Robinson (56) is a long way from his childhood at a Catholic seminary in Lancashire, where he once entertained the idea of being a priest.

Within 20 years of leaving the seminary, aged 17, Robinson was chief executive of Grand Metropolitan's contract services division. He has become a television star, hosting a sometimes brutally direct show on how to run business successfully, he has run the arts council in Britain, and he has also been knighted.

In 1987 he led what was then the largest management buyout (MBO) of a UK company, buying Grand Met's contract catering services to form what became Compass. The £163 million MBO floated a year later, earning Mr Robinson his first fortune.

In 1991 he joined Granada, the television and catering group, as chief executive. There he launched a £3.9 billion hostile bid for Forte, the family-run hotel chain, in 1996 in what became one of the most controversial and acrimonious takeovers of a UK company.

In 2000 he oversaw the merger of Compass and Granada, stepping back in 2002 to become a non-executive director and a consultant to Compass - for which he earned more millions. A year later he was made non-executive chairman of Allied Domecq, the drinks group, which was taken over this year by Pernod Ricard.

Just as people were wondering if the City had seen the last of Sir Gerry, he came up with his latest venture - Raphoe Management, named after a town in Donegal. Its goal is to revive poorly managed listed companies without taking them private.

Mr Robinson has a reputation for disarming charm and straight-talking, if ruthless, efficiency. He is famous for making quick decisions and asserting that "running a business is simple". However, Rentokil shareholders will focus on the financial record of the companies he has led.

The figures are impressive. By total return - share price plus dividends reinvested - Compass outperformed the support services sector by 21 per cent during Mr Robinson's tenure, having driven margins to 10 per cent - a level still considered high in the contract catering industry. On the same basis, Granada outperformed the media sector by 30 per cent and the hotel sector threefold between 1991 and 2000.

Yet, some critics argue that he focuses too hard on short-term performance at the cost of long-term investment in the business, which, ultimately, will affect shareholder returns.

Others critics say Mr Robinson is better suited to non-executive roles in which he does not have to get involved in detailed management and can delegate the details that bore him.

The man who always said he would retire at 55 might have a job convincing shareholders he will stay around long enough to rejuvenate Rentokil. - (Financial Times service)