City firm broker was asked to go 'whoring'

A senior manager of a leading City firm was accused yesterday of being "offensive and incredibly unprofessional" when he asked a junior member of staff to go "whoring" with him.

Interest rate swaps broker, Spencer Gill, said the invitation was made to him after he handed in his letter of resignation at Cantor Fitzgerald.

It came from Xavier Alcan, a senior managing director of Cantor's interest rates division.

Mr Gill told a High Court judge in London Mr Alcan, whose management style was "eccentric and erratic", asked to meet him outside the office on 8 March this year to discuss his resignation

Mr Gill said: "Initially, I hoped it would give me the opportunity to negotiate an early release rather than resign.

"However, he then kept asking me to go 'whoring' with him. I thought this was offensive and incredibly unprofessional behaviour for a senior manager in such circumstances."

Earlier in the hearing, in its eighth day, Mr Alcan told the court it was "standard practice" for brokers "to go whoring". By "whoring", Mr Alcan said he meant visits to lap dancing establishments and strip bars to release the pressure from work.

Mr Alcan said there were places such as the club, Spearmint Rhino, where "80 per cent of the market" could be seen on a good night.

Cantor is seeking damages from three brokers for breaking their contracts and joining arch rivals Icap. All three brokers – Edward Bird, Spencer Gill and Luigi Boucher – eventually left Cantor for Icap in April this year before their contracts expired.

They are counter-claiming, saying they had suffered from "domineering and bullying" management at Cantor.

Cantor is seeking the return of a loan extended to Mr Gill and bonuses paid to all three.