Outlook: Vaux scandal

NO APOLOGY is offered for returning for the second successive day to extraordinary goings on at Vaux Group, the Sunderland based brewer. From a City perspective, the whole thing stinks.

Sir Paul Nicolson, chairman of Vaux, is an honourable man, and he no doubt believes he is doing the right thing by his company, his employees and the local Sunderland community. He no doubt also believes all correct corporate governance procedures have been followed in preparing to sell the group's two breweries and some of its pubs to his brother. But when the non executives who decide these things are led by the chairman's brother in law, Stephen Gibbs, and the independence of much of the rest of the board is of questionable status, you have to wonder how much the letter of corporate governance law really matters.