Footloose FTSE 100 chiefs: City bosses are turning their backs on Britain, says RUTH SUNDERLAND

Working from home remains firmly embedded long after the pandemic lockdowns have been lifted. But why stop there?

If ‘work’ is no longer a place as well as a verb, why not WFB – work from the beach? Or be a so-called TWaT, who schlepps to the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and stays home on Mondays and Fridays.

In FTSE 100 chief executive circles, there is a new acronym in town: WFA, or work from abroad.

The latest is Jon Stanton, boss of engineering group Weir, who has moved to the US for personal reasons, having previously lived in Bath – already quite a long way from Weir’s headquarters in Glasgow.

An earlier defector is Lord Carter, who runs events group Informa. He decamped to the United Arab Emirates, a fast-growing market for his company as well as a tax-light regime.

Informa has a taste for abroad: it had its annual meeting in a luxury hotel in the South of France this year, making it expensive and inconvenient for small UK shareholders to attend in person.

Executive exodus: In FTSE 100 chief executive circles, there is a new acronym in town: WFA, or work from abroad

AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot, who of late spends much of his time in Australia, is said to be heartily disillusioned with the UK as a place to develop drugs.

Labour is not exactly incentivising bosses to stick around. On the pharma front, despite improvements, leading companies say the NHS drugs pricing regime still deters investment. More broadly, well-off individuals have been moving overseas to avoid punishing taxes.

Does it matter if FTSE chieftains move abroad? Most are international businesses. Some have little more than a brass plate in London. 

Many chief executives travel frequently, so there is an argument they don’t need to live in the UK to do their jobs.

Yet when a business has deep roots and a substantial workforce here, it feels queasy when its leaders turn their backs on the country. It hardly signals solidarity or commitment. 

Rico Back, the former Royal Mail boss, discovered as much when this newspaper revealed he was sheltering in a Swiss penthouse while posties were braving the pandemic in Britain.

It gives off a whiff of entitlement and suggests the boss may be prioritising his or her personal agenda over the interests of shareholders.

At a time when the City has lost its mojo, and Britain needs to rebuild its reputation overseas, a diaspora of blue-chip company leaders is not a good look.

What Next?

In the final full shopping week before Christmas, many retailers are consumed by gloom.

Yet even as Chancellor Rachel Reeves does her worst, fashion chain Next appears immune to the general misery.

The group has seen its shares rise 43 per cent this year, building on a strong performance in 2024, and it is reported to be in talks to take over shoe chain Russell & Bromley to add to an impressive portfolio of brands.

Admittedly, Next benefited from the M&S cyber meltdown, but it has been a profit machine for years.

This autumn, it issued its fourth profit upgrade. Its Total Platform system has created lucrative new revenue streams by providing e-commerce infrastructure to partner brands.

The way Next communicates is striking. In a business world riddled with jargon, its reports and accounts are clear, candid and informative, with no guff.

Boss Lord Wolfson continues to prove that a genuinely well-run business can thrive even in the toughest of times.

Stamped Out

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is embarking on reforms to the mortgage market so that home loans better reflect the realities of modern life. 

The traditional 25-year mortgage is a throwback to an era when people could reasonably expect to buy a property in their 20s, remain in steady employment for decades and retire with a reliable pension. That world has changed beyond recognition.

First-time buyers now face much steeper barriers to getting on the ladder, while many older people have wealth tied up in property that could be deployed to meet their needs later in life. 

It is sensible for the FCA to examine how mortgages should adapt to these social shifts.

But if ministers are serious about making the housing market work better, there is a more straightforward reform: abolishing stamp duty on property purchases.