Cable & Wireless Worldwide chief Gavin Darby set for £600,000 sale windfall

Cable & Wireless Worldwide's new chief executive, Gavin Darby, stands to make more than £600,000 from the sale of the company to Vodafone, after less than three months' work.

The deal would trigger a change of ownership clause in Mr Darby's contract, which allows him to collect the equivalent of his base salary for a year, whether or not he gets a new job at the company.

Mr Darby will also benefit from a leap of 35pc in CWW's shares over the past two days to 26.65p, thanks to a gold-plated pay package worth up to £3.3m, which included a golden hello of £600,000 worth of shares and a further £300,000 in shares to match his purchase of the same amount.

The former Vodafone executive took up the option on December 7, nine days after he joined the company, buying £330,000 of shares at around 16.89p. Yesterday they closed at 26.65p, meaning his shareholding has grown by around £500,000 since he took up the role.

Mr Darby, who is known for his strong mindedness, left Vodafone after a disagreement with its chief executive Vittorio Colao, and is unlikely to remain at CWW in the event of a sale.

However, he is likely to have to defend his generous remuneration on Thursday, when he presides over his first set of results at CWW, and presents his turnaround plan to investors.

As the third chief executive at CWW in less than 12 months, he will have to convince shareholders that the boardroom door has stopped revolving and that he can steady the business after it issued three profit warnings last year.

Vodafone confirmed on Monday that it is weighing up whether to make a bid for CWW, after the company – which provides telecoms services to large corporations and public sector institutions – lost four-fifths of its value in less than two years.

Analysts expect it to fetch between £700m and £900m, representing a 30pc premium to its closing price on Friday.

Vodafone, which has appointed UBS to run a slide rule over CWW, has until March 12 to make a firm bid or walk away. Its interest may have been piqued by the slump in CWW's share price, but the troubled telecoms business also offers a good strategic fit.

CWW owns the UK's biggest fibre network, valued at around £1bn, including fast connections into business parks. It also has an impressive roster of existing clients, including 70pc of the FTSE 100 and the National Health Service.