Reuters chief tells City 80 per cent of you are no good

Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer is heading for a row with the City after saying that four-fifths of the analysts who follow the information group are no good and should do something else.

Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer is heading for a row with the City after saying that four-fifths of the analysts who follow the information group are no good and should do something else.

In an interview with this month's Securities & Investment Review, Mr Glocer says: "Twenty analysts cover Reuters and I think that is way too much. There are three or four who are insightful - who make an effort to understand the company - but if there were just five really good analysts who covered Reuters, that would be enough."

The comments will go down poorly in the investment community, not least because they imply that the City is overstaffed. Reuters has suffered greatly in recent years as investment banks have cut back and cancelled subscriptions to its services.

Mr Glocer suggested that the 15 analysts not covering Reuters could be redeployed covering other companies. A Reuters spokesman suggested that because the company reported quarterly, analysts may not have the time to really understand the group.

Mr Glocer is no stranger to controversy, having said last year that his UK colleagues would be useful if you were in a bar-room brawl at 2am.