City People: the feuds, the faces and the farcical

The boss who looks like the back end of a bus, apparently
Keith Cochrane, chief executive of the struggling Weir Group, may be getting it in the neck from shareholders over his pay package, but unlike many of his peers he has already been immortalised, on the back of a bus. The chubby smiling figure to be found at the stern of Stagecoach’s Megabus long-distance coaches is said to have been modelled on Mr Cochrane at the behest of Sir Brian Souter, the Stagecoach founder, for whom Mr Cochrane served an unfortunately short time as chief executive a decade and a half ago.

Whatever next?
Does Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge reckon the demise of BHS could spread to the rest of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia empire? The director of Arcadia owns shares in Next, a fierce rival of BHS’s on the high street. The baroness’s shares have been disclosed on her House of Lords register of interest under category four, suggesting they’re worth more than £50,000.

A restaurant industry star
So it’s farewell to Tim Bacon, the Cheshire-based restaurant tycoon behind such brands as Living Room, Gusto and The Alchemist, who lost his 16-year battle with cancer on Friday night. When he came to Britain from his native Australia in 1987, he was hoping to pursue the acting career that had seen him appear in 138 episodes of the popular Aussie soap Sons and Daughters. But, like so many “resting” actors, and Aussies for that matter, he ended up as a barman and never looked back. He was 52.

The healthy investment
I’ve lost count of the number of drink companies looking to raise cash via crowdfunding, including brewers and gin distillers. The latest to join the bandwagon at least has the merit of being a bit different. Cranes of Cambridge makes what it claims is the world’s first cranberry cider and, with 99 calories, it’s being pitched at the health-conscious. Its founders, twins Ben and Dan Ritsema, are seeking to raise £95,000 via Seedrs and are already 65 per cent covered.