Xstrata chief's £4.5m bonanza

Mick Davis, chief executive of mining giant Xstrata, collected a £4.5 million pay package last year, making him one of the best paid bosses of a FTSE 100 company.

Big Mick, as he is known, received a basic salary of £1.1 million, a cash bonus of £1.1 million and a deferred bonus, paid in shares, worth £2.2 million. His perks totalled £142,000.

That included a housing allowance of £91,000 for Davis whose routine sees him travel from his detached 1950s house in Hampstead each Tuesday to Xstrata's head office in Zug, Switzerland, before returning to London on Thursday. On top of his pay package Davis, 50, saw a huge increase in the amount pumped into his pension. This soared from £912,000 in 2006 to £1.56 million.

He is also on a lucrative share bonus scheme, known as an added value incentive plan, which is based on how much he increases the value of the company.

In the last year, Xstrata's market capitalisation rose by £10 billion as it held aborted merger talks with rival Vale.