Stock-market new boys’ day in the sun

THESE pages have previously lamented the death of the annual report board photograph, a staple of City tradition cast into the dustbin of the modern era.

So it’s heart-warming to see new kid on the stock market block Tatton Asset Management trying to revive the idea. Founder Paul Hogarth (middle), investment chief Lothar Mentel (left) and finance boss Noel Stubley (right) were on the roof for a photoshoot to mark their IPO announcement. Is it us, or does Stubley look like he wished he’d stayed indoors?

Hogarth, by contrast, is about to pocket £26 million from the float. No wonder he looks slightly smug.

SPY WAS pondering what ex-Barclays man John Varley might do since resigning from Rio Tinto and BlackRock after being charged by the Serious Fraud Office when… ping!... a press release arrives advertising a new company called Varley. A new investment bank, we wondered? An offshore vehicle for toxic mortgages à la his old Barclays wheeze Protium? Apparently not. Varley is an up-and-coming London brand of yoga pants and sports bras. A new avenue for the ping-pong loving banker? Sadly not, Varley’s PR informs us. “Absolutely not. There is no connection.” Pity.