DEAL’S A GOOD WIN FOR FRED

Shamed former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Fred Goodwin was expected to avoid an appearance in court thanks to a £200million settlement.

Goodwin, stripped of his knighthood, was originally scheduled to give evidence in a claim brought against RBS by thousands of shareholders.

The case centred on a £12billion rights issue by RBS in 2008.

But investors holding out for RBS to increase an 82p a share offer have now caved in.

A High Court judge will rule today if the case has been formally settled but most shareholders who lodged claims had already accepted a lower offer.

Together with legal costs, RBS has been left with a final bill of around £1billion from the row.