Nick Ferguson: New Savills chairman blew the whistle – now others could follow his lead

Outlook

Savills reported a 3.5 per cent increase in underlying profit for the year to the end of December (Getty)

Savills, the upmarket estate agent, is getting a new chairman in the form of Nick Ferguson, the one-time private equity mogul turned chairman of broadcaster Sky.

If that name rings the odd bell, it is because Mr Ferguson blew the whistle on something rotten in Britain’s tax system. He quite rightly pointed out the absurdity of he and his private equity pals being able to pay less tax than their cleaners. It was due to a loophole that allowed them to treat the fees from managing private equity assets as capital gains rather than income.

Mr Ferguson didn’t exactly make himself popular with his peers by exposing the scam. But despite the Exchequer’s desperate need for revenues to close the deficit, it took eight long years for the loophole he exposed to be more or less closed. So they had plenty of time to party.

The market he is entering has more than its fair share of iniquities – not to mention scams and things that just ought not to be happening in a sensibly run society. Could Mr Ferguson do us all a favour by exposing some of them?

Well, he’s already done the country one service. Perhaps it’s time for one or two others to step up.