Banker suspended after tussle at City party
A high-flying banker who dressed as a chav for a Christmas fancy-dress party has been suspended after a fight with a colleague in a dalmatian costume.
The man, dressed from top to toe in Burberry check - as favoured by chavs - scuffled with another worker at US investment firm Goldman Sachs.
They clashed in the lavatory at the City firm's annual party after the "dalmatian" asked the "chav" - who was disappointed after he had failed to get a promotion - if he was alright.
The pair, both analysts within the bank's research teams, reportedly scuffled in front of four of the company's partners as tempers frayed.
One source said the banker in Burberry has since been suspended from his job. "He was a really good bloke," said one observer. "He is a nice guy. It is really unfortunate for him."
The pair had attended the fancy-dress party along with their respective research teams.
"Every team had to dress up in a different theme," said the source.
"Some went as Eighties power brokers, some went as movie characters. His team all put on their Burberry." A spokesman for Goldman Sachs, which prides itself on holding lavish staff parties, declined to comment on the incident.
Last year, 400 employees enjoyed a carnival-themed extravaganza in a private room in Lincoln's Inn Fields, with salsa dance lessons.
The party scuffle comes as the City's top dealmakers prepare for more than double their usual annual bonuses.
According to a new study, one in five financial services workers are betting on the bonus boost - meaning payouts for some of up to ?5 million - compared with a similar poll last month which had the optimists expecting rises averaging 65 per cent.
But bankers are also gearing up for a jobs merry-goround next spring if this year's bonus payouts fail to meet expectations.
The survey, from recruitment consultants Morgan McKinley, revealed that 140 of the 230 financial services workers interviewed will look for a new job after bonuses are paid.
The findings follow an Evening Standard poll of 20 senior investment banking directors this month which revealed that City bosses were prepared to go some way to meeting their staff 's hopes.
