Jacob Rothschild instilled respect, fear and excitement in those he encountered

A coffee with the City titan was akin to being back in a university tutorial, says Chris Blackhurst

Jacob Rothschild died earlier this week (Reuters)

In the City they’ve been shaking their heads. “It would never happen in Jacob’s day.”

They’re referring to the trauma at St James’s Place, Britain’s biggest wealth manager, which has seen its shares crash amid allegations of overcharging clients. The firm has put aside £426m for potential refunds to aggrieved customers.

Analysts at Bank of America are saying this is the “culmination of an annus horribilis” for St James’s, which is based in Cirencester and oversees £168.2bn for nearly one million clients.