THIS week the contentious issues of high salaries and elaborate incentive bonus schemes were again unfavourably highlighted by the Bank of England. Coincidentally the bank's warning came in a week when Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, the world's largest advertising and marketing group, was reportedly on course to pick up one of the biggest bonuses ever awarded to a British businessman.
Unlike Nick Leeson, Mr Sorrell can at least justify the largesse by pointing to the substantial growth in the value of the business he administers, a growth which, subject to certain contractual requirements, could bring share options worth a potential £18 million. The options, triggered by a 35 per cent surge in WPP's annual profits to £153 million, come on top of his annual salary of £357,000. When purchased by Mr Sorrell in 1985, the company manufactured supermarket trollies but has now evolved into an Anglo American advertising giant. One of those trollies could soon be back in service, wheeling away the loads of dosh.
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