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Adam Applegarth, the former chief executive of nationalised bank Northern Rock, has re-emerged with his first new role in the City.
He has become a senior adviser to US private equity firm Apollo Management. Applegarth will give advice to its European fund which has a large portfolio of duff loans.
This is the first time Applegarth has resurfaced in a business role since his departure from Northern Rock in December 2007 just two months before the Government was forced to nationalise the former building society. He left with an £840,000 pay-off including a sizeable top-up to his pension fund.
His appointment is bound to lead to speculation that Apollo might be looking at buying up some of Northern Rock's non-performing loans. The UK Government is currently studying plans to carve Northern Rock up into a “bad” bank and a “good” bank with Tesco reportedly being lined up as buyer for the latter.
Apollo is probably best known in the UK for its £1 billion takeover of estate agent Countrywide at the top of the housing boom in May 2007.
Reader views (2)
You could probably get a monkey to do it better than him, and pay it peanuts.
- Cpa, Cambridge UK
The rumour in the market is that Apollo, to improve their market timing after the countrywide trade, have developed the ultimate contrairian trading system and Applegarth is an essential component. If Applegarth says 'buy' then the fund sells and if he says 'sell' then the fund will go on a buying spree.
The simulated results based on his previous track record show returns of almost $1billion.
Stick to cricket Adam
- Investment Banker, London
