Heath forced to quit Baring

CHRISTOPHER Heath, the archetypal 1980s success story and at one time Britain's highest-paid employee, was forced yesterday to resign as chairman of Baring Securities after 'disagreements about policy' with the Barings board.

The forced resignation of Mr Heath and four of his colleagues came as a shock to the City. In 1989 Mr Heath earned more than pounds 3m while heading Baring Securities' Japanese warrants operation. But the subsequent downturn in the Far East mauled Barings' profits in the last two years and in 1992 forced it to cut staff.

Andrew Bayliss and Ian Martin, until recently Baring Securities' chief operating officer and finance director respectively, were also forced out yesterday, as were Vanessa Gibson, a derivatives specialist, Jim Reid, based in New York.

'This is an upheaval for Barings,' one analyst said. 'Barings was on an absolute high just two years ago. It goes to show how difficult it is to control these securities businesses.' Another insider said: 'Christopher Heath was one of the highest-profile people in the City. This represents the final swan-song of the 1980s. Once the money stops flowing, out they go.'

Barings' chairman, Peter Baring, said yesterday that Mr Heath and his senior colleagues had been asked to leave 'following a disagreement about policy.' The family-owned group is divided between Barings, the oldest merchant bank in the City, and Baring Securities, which Mr Heath built into a leading force in the booming economies of the Far East, with more than 1,000 staff.

Mr Baring said they disagreed about 'the rate of expansion (of Baring Securities) and the extent to which it should be run as an independent part of the group'. Mr Heath wanted faster expansion and more independence, Mr Baring said, whereas the board wanted a more consolidating approach and closer integration between the bank and the securities side.

The shine came off the 1980s dream last September when the securities arm laid off more than 100 staff with restructuring costs of pounds 8.9m. Last week Barings announced that profits for 1992 had halved to pounds 21.3m.

Mr Heath will continue as a consultant to Barings, Mr Baring said. 'We remain on good terms. We respect Mr Heath's abilities and what he has done for us.' Miles Rivett-Carnac was appointed chairman of Baring Securities in succession to Mr Heath.

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