Open goal, own goal
THE House of Lords found against them, and, giving judgment, Lord Steyn slapped them down: 'Final bonuses are not bounty. They are a significant part of the considera- tion for the premiums paid. It cannot be seriously doubted that the provision for guaranteed' annuities was a good selling point.' The reasonable expectation of the parties to this sale, Lord Steyn said, was that the directors would not exercise their dis- cretion over bonuses in a way that would conflict with the buyers' contractual rights. Faced with these rulings, Alan Nash, the Equitable's chief executive, had the nerve to accuse the Law Lords of moving the goal- posts. It would be truer to say that Mr Nash and his colleagues moved the goalposts, so as to prevent the holders of their guarantees from shooting at an open goal, and that the House of Lords has put them back. The result is a knock-out. After 238 years of happy mutuality, the Equitable is for sale.
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