Unlike Mr Wallace however Sir Christopher is only on a one-year

Unlike Mr Wallace, however, Sir Christopher is only on a one-year contract. A fairly full price for failure.Now, compare Mr Wallace’s proposal with Sir Christopher’s.Last week the pinstriped one was painted as the most obese of City fat cats for the pay and bonus package he wants to give himself at a time when shareholders have lost their shirts. That’s a staggering £1.55m, not counting any extras he might negotiate for loss of benefits and bonuses. Mr Wallace, however, has an extra year on his deal because he joined the company before the new, and eminently sensible, policy was implemented.This means that if, heaven forbid, Mr Wallace should lose his job then he would receive two years’ salary to help him get over the shock. Nothing too controversial, you might say; it’s hardly going to spark the same rumpus that greeted Vodafone boss Sir Christopher Gent and his gargantuan pay packet.But it should.In line with most quoted companies, Cable & Wireless has a policy of appointing directors on one-year contracts. In the new era of corporate scrutiny, where high salaries, bonuses and generous share options have become the dirtiest of words in the City, Mr Wallace is again going against the grain.He’s up for re-election next month and is asking shareholders to appoint him on a two-year rolling contract.

With the markets now in the doldrums, he’s buying when most of his rivals are selling.
But his eagerness to swim against the tide of opinion does not end with his business strategy for the telecoms company. During the insanity of the technology boom he sold companies while everyone else was buying. Graham Wallace, chief executive of Cable & Wireless, is a man who likes to defy the odds. This followed rumours that Mr Reitzle had clashed with Ford’s chief operating officer Sir Nick Scheele..

Ford has also been rocked by internal ructions, with the sudden departure of former chief executive Jac Nasser.Under the stewardship of Bill Ford, great-grandson of the company’s founder Henry Ford, the company was also hit by the recent departure of Wolfgang Reitzle, head of Jaguar and Aston Martin. He hit the big time in 1999 when Ford knocked on his door, eventually selling the company for $1.6bn (£1bn).Today, the business generates a profit of around £40m on sales of £700m.News that Ford is struggling to sell Kwik-Fit for $1bn (£670m) is yet another setback for the Detroit-based group.Earlier this year it reported a first-quarter loss of $800m (£530m) as a result of falling US sales. Founded in 1971 by Sir Tom Farmer, Kwik-Fit later captured the public imaginationwith a snappy television advertising campaign featuring its energetic mechanics and its catchphrase: “You can’t get quicker than a Kwik-Fit fitter.”In 1974, Sir Tom sold the company for £75,000, but he bought it back soon after when the new owner ran into difficulties. At this time we are really not putting a time frame on things,” he said. But well-placed sources revealed that the offers are substantially below Ford’s expectations.
A source close to one of the bidders said: “Ford has made it pretty clear that if they don’t receive any better offers, the deal could be off.”A spokesman for Ford insisted that no decision had been taken “We will give guidance when we have a suitable deal in hand. However, Ford, advised by investment bank Goldman Sachs, is understood to be disappointed with the offers it has received for the business, and there is now speculation that the sale could be pulled.The company is understood to have received bids from CVC Capital Partners, Apax Partners, Paribas Affaires Industrielles and Permira. Employing 11,500 staff in 2,400 centres across the UK, Kwik-Fit has been on the block since February.

Crisis-stricken Ford Motor Company is struggling to sell the Kwik-Fit car repair chain for its $1bn (£670m) asking price. He will have to win over any dissidents.”Clearly Liberty intends to acquire the company, either through debt, and if that fails, probably through another route,” said a leading debt expert, who declined to be named.Mr Malone also played a key role in the debt restructuring of Telewest’s rival NTL A Liberty Media spokesman did not return calls.. Mr Malone already owns 25 per cent of Telewest’s shares, but this would be diluted in any debt-for-equity restructure.However, Mr Malone faces opposition from a group of Telewest’s bondholders, who have stated that they will reject an offer. If this happens and Mr Malone succeeds in buying the bonds, he should be able to use this position to take control of Telewest. The debt-holders have until Wednesday to accept the offer at this price.Sources close to Liberty say that if the bondholders accept, Mr Malone will win the rights to bid for the rest of Tele-west’s bonds.Analysts believe that within the next six months Telewest’s chief executive Adam Singer could be forced to restructure the company’s debts. The tycoon has spotted an opportunity to seize control of Telewest by buying out its bondholders.Mr Malone’s company, Liberty Media, has already made a $350m (£234m) offer for a fifth of the bonds.