Reed to seek £1m severance payout from Standard Life

Published on Saturday 31 March 2007 00:14

ALISON Reed, the former finance director of Standard Life, looks set to launch legal action against the Edinburgh life and pensions giant after her departure last October.

The former Marks & Spencer executive who guided Standard through its flotation, but had only been in the FD chair less than 18 months, was paid about 1 million for the time she was in Edinburgh.

But Standard Life has yet to compensate her for her departure, insisting that she resigned.

It is believed that Reed is now seeking a claim worth about another 1m.

A spokesman for Standard Life said: "Alison Reed resigned in October 2006 and no payments in respect of her termination of employment have been made. We have not reached agreement with Alison Reed concerning the termination of her employment.

"If we had made or were to make any compensation payments to a director leaving service, we would make full disclosure in the normal way. Beyond this we have no further comment."

Reed has been replaced by former ScottishPower finance director David Nish, who joined in November. It was largely believed that Nish had turned down the job before Standard Life's flotation.

The firm finally got its man on a salary of 475,000, and without any signing-on fee. Reed was paid a salary of 454,000 and received a bonus of 220,000 in 2005.

Unconfirmed speculation was that her departure had been prompted by personal tensions in the Standard boardroom about her management style and communications with the City.