Morning:
13°c
RBS tries to hide £300,000 suite at Wimbledon as taxpayer foots bill
Jack Lefley and Shekhar Bhatia29.06.09
Royal Bank of Scotland have a £300,000 corporate hospitality suite at Wimbledon, paid for by the taxpayer
At taxpayers' expense, highly-paid bankers are enjoying free champagne and food while relaxing in leather chairs as staff wait on them.
RBS is lavishing huge sums on providing corporate hospitality at the All England Club despite needing a £20 billion Government injection to save it from possible collapse last year.
The bank has gone to great lengths to hide the “entertainment lounge” from public view, with measures including:
* Removing its name and branding from any signs in public view.
* Tight security, with guards barring entry to anyone without a pass.
* All England Club officials and the bank's head office refusing to divulge the location of the suite.
But the Standard can today reveal the lounge is inside the building around Wimbledon's Court One.
Its comforts are far removed from the conditions endured by ordinary tennis fans, some having to camp overnight in Wimbledon Park to get tickets.
The suite is available for more than 42 people throughout the 13 days of the Championships at the cost of £19,500 a day, with guests being treated to £75 bottles of champagne and fine food.
Added costs under-written by the taxpayer include £75 per person for lunch, a £100 ticket for Centre Court and a one-off charge of £150 for flowers.
Ordinary spectators have to pay £6.30 for fish and chips and £12 for a 200 ml bottle of champagne.
The air-conditioned comfort also saves bankers from having to cope with the sweltering temperatures.
Other lounges are listed by sponsor in the staircase, but Lounge H has been left blank in an apparent bid to hide the presence of RBS.
Wimbledon officials, security staff and the bank's head office have refused to reveal the location of the suite.
But the Standard found it and saw the luxurious surroundings RBS executives and clients are being treated to courtesy of the taxpayer.
The Government took a 70 per cent stake in RBS after it suffered a £24.1 billion loss, the biggest in UK corporate history. Its troubles led it to dismiss tens of thousands of employees. Ex-RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin has agreed to hand back some his controversial pension but a £9.6 million pay deal for current chief executive Stephen Hester sparked fresh anger.
And the bank has come in for renewed criticism after it emerged that it paid a market research company £400,000 to ask people what they think of it in a survey.
Other companies and organisations, including the BBC, have decided to cut their entertainment budget by not hiring suites at Wimbledon this year.
But there was little evidence of cost-cutting in the RBS lounge as guests tucked into a menu including Shetland Isles salmon with chocolate truffle torte for dessert. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said: “RBS executives simply don't understand or care that they are a publicly owned bank using taxpayers' money.
“While small businesses are being squeezed and depositors are getting a very bad deal top management is splashing around public money in this outrageously self-indulgent way. The tradition of Sir Fred Goodwin lives on.”
Details of the hospitality deal were first revealed in a leaked email from an All England Club official.
An RBS spokeswoman said the deal was a long-standing agreement and insisted it was customers rather than staff who were using the lounge.
Reader views (35)
The reality is that those leaving comments have no idea as to what it is to make money in the banking sector, the fact is that these people make obscene money for their employer and therfore are treated to such "Perks". The majority of Public have no understanding of what "Real Money Is" £75'000 is nothing when each individual banker is capable of making £300,000 a day for their bank!
- Jdg, London
Just another example of reckless spending of our money by the feckless - note - show your displeasure - send a letter to RBS bosses, threaten to close your accounts unless the retract or pay for this themselves -
YOU have the power IF you`re prepared to make the effort to use it in this simple and direct way.
If not, stop complaining.
Now, Imagine this scenario magnified a hundredfold - Yes, welcome aboard Lord Coe`s 2012 Olympic gravytrain!
Are we taxpayers taken for suckers, or what?
David Cameron, ir you`re serious about cutting wastage in public spending and being fair to the taxpayer by reigning in this obscene excess in times of REAL hardship for the prudent, then give it back to Athens!
- Darius Midwinter, London UK
Gary Reback, Scarsdale, NY
In case you were not aware, the taxpayer is ensuring that RBS can meet its obligations to its depositors and thus survive as an entity
Like every other financial firm in the world, cuts have and will still be made in the area of client entertainment, so the notion that this lavish hospitality is necessary to make money, is frankly risable.
Why then did RBS executives go to such lenghts to hide this from their owners ?
- John, Twickenham
What is Mr Brown doing about this? Ripped off British Taxpayers are demand action.
- Maggie, London UK
Leopards don't change their spots, neither do fat cats. Disgusting and immoral.
- Betty Goodfield, Birmingham, UK
I think RBS is doing what all firms do. You have to spend money to make money and if RBS doesn't entertain clients, the clients would consider going elsewhere and all tax-payers will lose. - Gary Reback
- Gary Reback, Scarsdale, NY
Marvin James, Berlin, Germany
"I believe that the critics of RBS are simply concerned that they are unable to afford this level of entertainment."
Perhaps you are just teasing fellow readers, but just for the record, RBS are unable to afford this level of entertainment from their own resources. RBS only remain in business thanks to a massive sum of money kindly provided by UK taxpayers, most of whom cannot afford to be entertained in this manner.
It would be interesting to know if any MPs, Government Ministers or Civil Servants have been entertained at this facility.
- John C, Leatherhead, UK
As a tax payer....
Dear RBS, give me my money back, thank you.
- Stephen, Worcester
Carl - tax evasion and price gouging are also great evils, but they are not quite the same thing as the Great British tradition of living on the dole.
- Bloke, London
I enjoyed W in a different courtesy suite provided by a vendor I use for research. The service was excellent, far better than what one finds available to the general public. The food and other refreshments were of excellent quality (and all British). Staff was courteous. This is how I like to enjoy my business life. I believe that others would to if they could afford the cost. I believe that the critics of RBS are simply concerned that they are unable to afford this level of entertainment.
Marvin, Berlin and London
- Marvin James, Berlin, Germany
strongbow sullivan
if you asked 6 marketing experts about the effectiveness of corporate hospitlaity - you would get 6 different answers. Where Corporate Hospitality should feature in RBS overall marketing plans is an internal issue for them, but to clear RBS succeeding in the very competitive world of investment and corporate banking is important to all of us...we own the company and wnat to get our money back (or more) cutting all marketing expenditure, paying below market rate salaries is not in my opinion the bast way to achieve that goal...
- Martin_Clerkenwell, london
To Bloke, London...we also have union members, union leaders, bar staff taking tips and not paying tax on them, plumbers and electricians who try to rip me off every time I need a two minute job doing, car servicing workers who charge £100 an hour etc etc the list is endless. Oh but I forgot, these are "traditional working class" and immune from comments of condemnation. Whay not tar all with the same brush - you seem quite happy to do it in other areas of business and industry!
Some people just earn more than others; some people have different requirements in life.
To listen to some of the comments here, it seems that anyone who earns more than the individual commenting deserves to be castigated (or god forbid if you are poor and happen to be unemployed then worse applies).
Whatever happened to having respect for those that have worked their to increased wealth (however they did it provided it was legal). It would be nice to see some justification for what you are writing rather than simply condeming someone for having done well in their "chosen" career.
- Carl, London
I'm a NatWest customer and also, of course, a taxpayer. Does this mean I can watch the tennis whilst slurping the champers?
- Gareth Mills, London
My experience of hospitality suites at major events is that you get a lot of feeloaders, you don't get any new business and serious punters will do business with you any way. This should have been cancelled or sold on to someone who could afford it. There are many cheaper ways of networking, rewarding your customers and eeloping new ones. I bet thet aren't aallowing ordinary staff to take advantage of this facility.
- Strongbow Sullivan, Paris,France.
I'm a marketing manager and i can tell you that Corporate Entertainment is one of the weakest methods of developing business. If this really is about business development then they would have been better off spending that money elsewhere on campaigns and activities that would give them a bigger bang for their (actually the tax payer's) buck.
- Barry, woking, GB
Why is anyone surprised? Living on the dole is one of the most enduring of British traditions. We have the Royals and now we know we have the MPs. We have the barristers dependent on legal aid and we have the tennis superstars whose coaches and physios are funded by the government. We have the BBC executives, not to mention the unemployed. Why should the bankers be left out? Bankers are conformists and supporters of tradition. That is what they do. That is why we love them.
- Bloke, London
We should be paying the RBS directors a lot more money because if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
- Thomas, London
If the taxpayers wish to never receive a dime of their "investment" keep harping on a Bank trying to entertain clients. If you can't keep these clients from jumping to a competitor it will be tough to return to profitability. And comparing "ordinary spectators" to important clients of a bank is like comparing my community tennis complex to that of Wimbledon...illogical and only intends to stir the pot!
- Bbs, Fairhope, Alabama
paul - I with you on this.
RBS is a commercial organisation in a competitive field. It therefore has to make an asseemnet how best to win and development major business and marketing and corporate hospitality is part of this process. This is not perks for RBS staff. You could equally argue that they should be advertising on TV.
The publics best interest is that RBS is successful and moves out of public ownership, the tax payers may yet make a profit out of the whole process...
- Martin_Clerkenwell, london
Having been unable to watch the last stage of qualifying for the British GP I rang someone who was enjoying the 'hospitality'. If people are that disinterested customers who are should be allowed to enter a draw to attend these functions!
- Man U Fan, London
'You've got to pay the money to get the talent, or it goes elsewhere ' Oh sorry wrong mantra.
I guess they needed the 'Rainmakers' to test out the new roof on Centre Court.
- Paul, Kent
I an ideally qualifies as a tax payer and customer of RBS. Please advise how I can obtain access to this facility.
- Ron, London
Well, looks like we need to cancel some of these LONG STANDING perks. I had to resign from my club but these greddy Banker just keep on spending.
- Ruckus, Myrtle Beach USA
Am actually looking forward to shoe-horning a few bottles of Krug down my neck this afternoon, if you look out for me I'll be the drunk one eating a foie gras souffle, haha
- Dt, London
The perception of those who have not done a good job being rewarded whilst others have no chance is beyond belief. Even if it was a long standing arrangement it would have been far better to cancel and let people know why. This would have gained them far more respect.
- Hiw, London, London
Paul, you cannot be serious!
- Mike, London
If it was a "long-standing agreement", presumably signed up for before public ownership and austerity, then why not raffle each hospitality place to genuine tennis fans and get some money back for the public purse?
- Ab, London
Simply refuse to do business with them.
As it is a publicly owned business, they should publish a list of all the guests who attended.
- Frank, Home Counties, England.
As long as the individuals being entertained are clients who will invest heavily in the bank then what is the problem? The bank has to generate income through it's clients and this is just one of the ways all banks do this. Or would the public rather the bank be closed down completely, thus losing any chance of recovering taxpayers money?
- Paul, Chatham, UK
I have a 'customer relationship' manager who comes with my RBS account.
I've emailed him to ask where my invitation to the suite at Wimbledon is. So far, no reply.
- Brian Thompson, London, UK
Don't use Banks anymore; if you do; then you get what you deserve.
OK; most of you need the banks; tough, live with it.
For those that don't use or need Banks; stay happy OK.
- Mickinlondon, london.
A word of advice to all customers - close your account and take your custom elsewhere.
- R.F., Yorks, UK
RBS obviously think that the heat is off the banks and bankers since the MP expenses has been headlining the news and can try and get away with splashing their...sorry our, cash around living it up!
Interesting to know which 'customers' were being entertained...most probably MP's!!!!
- Jh, London
I am one of the old shareholders thatr was shafted originally by this crowd.
Is there no sense of remorse available to this outfit of crooks.
If they want to know what people think of them have the guts to go out and ask in person.
- Ray, surrey
"An RBS spokeswoman said the deal was a long-standing agreement and insisted it was customers rather than staff who were using the lounge".
I'm a customer. Can I use it then ?
- Roy Grainger, London
