Clara Furse, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, has picked up a windfall of more than £200,000 (€294,000), almost half her bonus last year, after the exchange paid out a special dividend to shareholders last week.

The exchange decided to pay £162m, 55p a share, or 65% of its £250m cash pile. An exchange spokesman said: "The simple fact is that we have strong cashflows and that with the sale of the stock exchange tower [in London for £67m] the time was right to consider our cash reserves. We took the decision to return it to the shareholders."