Pay cut for boss as SECC in black

THE boss of Glasgow’s landmark convention centre took a 13 per cent pay cut despite a return o profit at the city council-controlled venue.

John Sharkey, chief executive of the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre (SECC), said the completion of the SSE Hydro, the new £125 million arena next to the centre, will be “down to the wire” after a fire damaged the roof last month. Rod Stewart is booked as the arena’s opening act on 30 September.

He said it had been a challenging year for the facility.

The SECC moved into the black with a £1.4m pre-tax profit in the year to end of March, a turnaround from 2012 when the firm booked a £29.9m loss due mainly to a writedown related to the Hydro development.

Turnover rose 9 per cent to £29.5m. Glasgow City Council owns 91 per cent of the SECC.