Aberdeen chief tees up job at Wentworth
INVESTMENT titan Martin Gilbert may be spending a little more time on the golf course after agreeing to sell Standard Life Aberdeen’s insurance division to Phoenix Group for £3.24 billion. Gilbert – who founded Aberdeen Asset Management in 1983 and merged it with Standard Life last year – has accepted a new post on the board of Wentworth, the exclusive golf club he has patronised since the late 1980s.
The 62-year-old SLA joint chief executive is friendly with the Surrey club’s owners, Chinese-Thai billionaire Dr Chanchai Ruayrungruang and his daughter, Woraphanit.
Dr Chanchai’s Reignwood conglomerate bought Wentworth for £135 million in 2014 from restaurateur Richard Caring, then infuriated members by raising fees from £8,000 to £13,500 prompting a mass walk-out.
Gilbert – who has a handicap of 16 – was appointed as a nonexecutive Wentworth director this month. The club’s latest accounts show pre-tax losses more than doubled to £5.5 million in 2016, up from £2.2 million over the nine months to December 31, 2015. Interest payable on the club’s loans hit £4.3million, up from £2.9 million.
Gilbert’s advisory role at the club is his sixth board seat. His others include a non-executive post at miner Glencore and the deputy chair of Sky.
It has been a topsy-turvy time for Gilbert, paid £1.3million since the merger. SLA last week lost a £109billion contract with its biggest client Lloyds Banking Group.