Soho Estates; following the death of Paul Raymond

Fascinating what happens when the man who has long controlled a business dies. Paul Raymond (pictured) set up Soho Estates in the 1960's. The "King of Soho" died on March 3rd 2008. The 2008 accounts for a business were released by Companies House on Friday.

The debt-free company cruises on, almost unaffected by the recession. Profits are down £1.5m to £16.2m. But turnover has been boosted 9% to £25.2m by an increase in rental income. The directors say they are "satisfied by the results." 

So they should be. Director's emoluments have shot up from £1.2m to £5m. This is because a bonus of £4m has been paid to the board,which include Raymond's daughter Fawn James and Mark Quinn, who actually runs the estate. The highest paid director got £2.6m against £413,000 in 2007.

Why the bonuses? Who knows? But it may have something to do with an upward revaluation of the estate. The net asset value of the properties rose from £139m to £207m; mostly on the back of a £59m revaluation uplift. You can guess who kept the numbers low.

But it is not all good news for the directors. Someone broke the cardinal rule and invested outside the West End. Someone lent £4m to put into a 90%-owned venture in the United Arab Emirates. Soho Estates has made a £1.4m provision against that loan. Careful guys: Paul would not approve.