Fury at £21m deal with banker’s wife

THE billionaire founder of Metro Bank is facing fury from a major investor over £21m of payments to his wife’s architecture business.

Vernon Hill, 72, has been slammed by Royal London, which has a 0.44pc stake, for a deal with wife Shirley’s company Interarch, which designs its branches. Savings business Royal London said it will vote against Hill’s re-election as chairman at its annual meeting later this month.

Ashley Hamilton Claxton, its head of responsible investment, said: ‘In a year when large corporate failures dominate the headlines, boardrooms should pay especially close attention to related party transactions, such as the payments by Metro Bank to Interarch, owned by the wife of the bank’s chairman, for design and branding services.’

Metro says the deal is above board, with terms as good as those available from rivals. The bank’s shares rose 0.2pc, or 18p, to 3480p.