Clara Furse, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, is sitting on a paper profit of more than £12m (€17m) through her shares and options in the UK market. The share price has almost tripled since the group went public four years ago, six months after Furse was appointed to the top job.

LSE shares closed at 1,173p on Friday, valuing Furse's shareholding at £4m with a further £1.5m held in trust. She could realise an additional paper profit of £6.6m through her options package. She was paid a basic £350,000 salary last year and received a bonus of £460,000.