Barclays’ new head gardener

Judi Bevan

3 March 2007

An industrial scholarship from Vickers took him to read mechanical sciences at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he met his wife-to-be, Kate, daughter of Edmund de Rothschild. She was only 18 and went back to London to study art at the Courtauld Institute while he finished his degree. They married three years later — she had converted from Judaism to Anglicanism — and produced two daughters. Marrying into the most eminent financial dynasty in Europe, awash with clashing egos, cannot have been easy. ‘I believe a lot of Marcus’s determination to succeed stems from wanting to prove himself to the Rothschilds,’ says one old friend.

After two unhappy years at Vickers, followed by a Harvard business degree, Jacob (now Lord) Rothschild suggested he talk to some merchant banks — including Lazard, which he correctly predicted was due for a shake-up under Ian Fraser, a dry Scot who had been the first director-general of the Takeover Panel. Agius was interviewed by Fraser the day the FT 30 index peaked. Two years later he was helping sort out the mess at Burmah Oil; other colourful moments included advising on the battle for Westland and holding the ring during the Guinness scandal in 1986. More recently he acted for Halifax in its merger with Bank of Scotland.

The three-way partnership of Lazard Brothers, with autonomous arms in London, Paris and New York, gave Agius international exposure that fits well with Barclays’ ambitions to expand abroad. Last year he went through the fire as a principal for the first time when the Spanish group Ferrovial bid for BAA, where he was chairman. He led the defence and — after an unpleasant scrap with Goldman Sachs — emerged with honour, obtaining a price of £10.5 billion that was far higher than the original offer.

‘That was a crucial part of his experience for us,’ says Rudd — significantly, since Barclays is so often spoken of by the rest of the City as a potential takeover or merger candidate.

At 60, Agius appears to have segued effortlessly into a new career at Barclays — plus non-executive roles at Kew Gardens and the BBC. ‘I rate [BBC director-general] Mark Thompson in the same way as I rate John Varley. You have to respect your chief executive to be effective,’ he says. Outside work and family, his passion is his garden in Hampshire, complete with a wildflower meadow. ‘The charm of horticulture is that you actually make a difference,’ he says. ‘I started with an empty field and now it’s a garden.’ He may not make quite that scale of impact at Barclays, but having one of the City’s most experienced and well-connected corporate financiers as chairman can only be to its advantage.