Bottom Line: Manhattan pay-off

FROM the advertising agency that gave us the slogan Manhattan Landing comes the dollars 6m pay-off for Bob Kennedy, former chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising North America.

Mr Kennedy announced his resignation three weeks ago, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. The time, no doubt, will be well spent.

Investors have every right to be aggrieved about the size of the pay-off. It does, after all, represent about 12.5 per cent of the likely pre-tax profits that Saatchi will make this year.

But what they should be angry about is the way that the announcement of Mr Kennedy's departure was revealed. A month before he quit, Saatchi issued a profit warning and announced an extra pounds 10m of severance costs, including the pay-off.