Gary Player tees off as open-handed Brits prove a hit for Berenberg Bank’s charity efforts
Germans may have put the English in the shade with their sporting success this year at the World Cup, but it seems there’s one pursuit we are better at: coughing up.
So when Berenberg Bank wanted to ensure their sponsorship of an invitational pro-am golf tournament hosted by evergreen great Gary Player raised as much cash for charity as possible, they decided to look beyond home soil and to the more fertile greens of Wentworth. A galaxy of the game’s top pros, including Player himself, Rickie Fowler, Martin Kaymer and Colin Montgomerie teed off on Monday at the inaugural event alongside Berenberg clients and celebrities such as Sir Ian Botham and Mike Tindall.
“Gary convinced me to make a tournament because there we can do something for our clients and also for charity,” said Berenberg partner Hans-Walter Peters. “We started in South Africa and then went to Germany, but for charity it’s better here in England because the people come with more open pockets – that’s different to Germany.” With over $100,000 raised for charity, Wentworth didn’t disappoint.
■ So Mr T isn’t the only one calling out fools. Yesterday saw Panther Securities’ chairman Andrew Perloff swinging “foolish” around as liberally as the A-Team legend himself, on the Stock Exchange’s RNS feed. What was Perloff’s beef? Department store Beales, in which Panther has a 29.72 per cent stake, announced it was booting Panther’s representative off its board. Perloff really wasn’t too happy. Oh, and property investment firm Panther also owns 58 per cent of Beales’ store space. “I have long held the view that, 1) It is foolish to upset your landlord. 2) It is foolish to upset those that provide you with finance. 3) It is foolish for a quoted company to upset its largest shareholder. 4) It is foolish to sack a director who is knowledgeable, well connected and who does not charge a salary or any expenses,” wrote Perloff. Only a fool would argue with that – the words doorstep and neighbour spring to mind.
■ The Capitalist hears the ladies on Diageo’s executive team were rushed off their feet all last week. Not from running around after SABMiller executives (with their fizzling out merger talks), but in a bid to raise cash for Care International by walking 700,000 steps. CMO Syl Saller, CFO Deirdre Mahlan, HR director Leanne Wood, corporate relations director Charlotte Lambkin, strategy director Anna Manz and general counsel Siobhan Moriarty kept their trainers on all week and even resorted to walk and talk meetings – all in aid of women who walk miles every day to collect fresh water. And £40k was raised… well worth the blisters.