Icap held its annual charity day on Wednesday. As ever, this gave its staff around the world an opportunity to dress up in bizarre costumes for a raft of good causes. I was lucky enough to be invited to the proceedings at the company’s London offices, though it was quite disconcerting to be met by a bloke dressed in full rubber bondage gear. Apparently the individual concerned, a member of Icap’s spot voice broking team, hadn’t even hired the costume. That’s a particularly unpleasant mental image.
As I was ushered to the VIP area I couldn’t help but notice the other scary blokes dressed up as bouncers manning the doors. But rather than being brokers fulfilling their fantasies, these heavies were the real deal. “Are they here to stop Tulletts creeping in and poaching a load of your staff?” I enquired. The reality was that they were there to stop Icap’s own brokers from gate-crashing the VIP lounge, which I saw some trying to do even though a few of the celebrities were definitely what I would only describe as a “yours”.
 |
 Darryl Hooker, global emerging market manager |
 |
It was also amazing to see the effect a pretty lady has on 40-year-old lechers, particularly ones with large wallets. A string of brokers followed Kelly Brook – a British celebrity well known for her curves – towards the VIP lounge; but they found their entry barred by the bouncers. In a sad reversion to a previous life, I delighted in flicking V-signs and mouthing: “How you left, jubs?” to those barred from entry.
All good fun, but the most important thing was that once again some good causes got some big funding. This year, Icap donated £11.5 million, beating the £11 million it raised in 2008, which is incredible given the challenging environment. Since it started its charity day back in 1993, Icap has raised a total of £64.5 million.
