Ken Cadenhead, the former managing director of privately held Western Ferries, left his post last year with $5.7 million after the company bought his 22% stake, The Herald reported. The figure implies Western Ferries, which is locked in a battle with state-subsidized Caledonian-MacBrayne for the Dunoon-Gourock route, has built itself into a company worth $26 million with just one route on the Clyde. Around 10 ferry operators are awaiting tender documents, expected to be issued next month, that could spark a bidding war for the service. Western Ferries operates the rival service to CalMac and attracts the vast majority of vehicular traffic on the route, which logs more than 600,000 car journeys a year. Nonetheless, accounts obtained by The Herald, reveal that Western purchased Cadenhead's shares in a year when profits tumbled by more than 40%. Cadenhead retired last year after 32 years with Western.
(Source: The Herald)