M&S's Green bill comes to £40m

MARKS & Spencer's successful defence against the marauding retail tycoon Philip Green came at a high price with the total bill for its army of advisers likely to top £40m.

Its high-powered defence team included Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Cazenove. Legal advice was provided by Slaughter & May.

Green's camp claim that the fees he has incurred 'will be very small beer'.

His advisers included investment banks Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, lawyers Ashurst and spin doctors Finsbury.

The retail mogul is also likely to have to pay loan arrangement fees to his financial backers including HBOS. Goldman was standing ready as a lender as well as an adviser. Its private equity arm GS Capital partners was prepared to line up £800m of funds.

M&S shares last night closed down 2 1/2p to 343p - well below Green's 400p-a-share proposal.

New chief executive Stuart Rose faces a steamy summer trying to prove that he can lift the price above 400p.

The group must also address murmurs of discontent from City shareholders, some of whom are upset at the out-of-hand rejection of Green's bid by Rose and interim chairman Paul Myners.

A number of powerful City institutions are opposed to the idea of Myners taking the chair on a permanent-basis because of his lack of retail industry experience.

Green is sunning himself on his yacht in Monaco while plotting his next move.

Sources say he is in no hurry to launch a new assault on the High Street, though his name has been linked with struggling supermarket chain J Sainsbury.