Furse pay package hits £1m despite failed bid for Liffe

Clara Furse, the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, took home nearly £1m in pay and bonuses for the 12 months to 31 March as the Exchange enjoyed its strongest spurt of growth in recent years.

But Ms Furse, whose bonus alone amounted to £475,000, also oversaw the LSE's failure to take over the London futures exchange, Liffe. It was beaten by Euronext, the Continental cross-boarder exchange.

Ms Furse's package included an award of 42,513 shares and 3430 options exercisable at 365p before 2011. She now holds 500,330 options, giving her a paper profit of about £700,000 and a total of 221,813 shares worth almost £1m. The LSE's latest annual report shows that Ms Furse received a £26,000 pension contribution. In the previous year, which included just six weeks of Ms Furse's tenure, she received £107,000 including a £50,000 bonus.

Don Cruickshank, the chairman, was paid £351,000 for the year to March and received no bonus. In 2001, Mr Cruickshank was paid nearly twice as much, taking home £683,000, including a £250,000 bonus. The LSE said the dramatic reduction in Mr Cruickshank's pay reflected the fact that he had to do without a chief executive for much of 2001 but has now stepped down to non-executive chairman, on a three-day week.

Executive directors Jonathan Howell and Martin Wheatley managed to more than double their salaries by being paid bonuses of £320,000 and £300,000 respectively.

The LSE defended Ms Furse's pay package, saying it did not depend on whether the institution managed to do a major corporate deal. It said in a statement: "We have a clear and transparent remuneration policy. Executives' bonuses reflect their success in exceeding financial performance targets and objectives."

Ms Furse is under pressure to produce a deal this year because many in the City believe the LSE cannot survive in the long term as an independent body. The LSE reported a 22 per cent rise in operating profit to £70.5m and saw its share price climb from its debut price of 370p to 458p on the back of speculation that it could become a takeover target.