Former CBI chair Soames handed lobby group £750,000 loan

The former head of the CBI has handed the business lobby group a six-figure loan as it continues to cut its cost base following the scandal which brought it to the brink of collapse in 2023.

Sky News has learnt that Rupert Soames, who stepped down as CBI chair last December, made a £750,000 subordinated loan to the self-styled 'voice of business' as it restructured the lease on its imposing headquarters near Cannon Street station in the City of London.

Details of the loan are included in the CBI's latest annual report and accounts, which were distributed to members on Tuesday morning, but which have not been made public.

According to the document, the CBI - which is now led by the BAE Systems chair, Cressida Hogg - agreed heads of terms to amend its Cannon Place tenancy, transferring its leasehold interest to another party - the asset management group Franklin Templeton - while retaining a smaller presence in the building.

The deal was aimed at reducing annual property costs by £1.5m, which would deliver savings of £4.5m by December 2028.

The CBI has been based in the City since 2014.

"The transaction forms part of the CBI's ongoing management of its cost base and right-sized the CBI's London office footprint to reflect its current operating requirements while maintaining appropriate accommodation for colleagues, members and events," the CBI annual report said.

However, the £1.1m up-front cost of the deal entailed providing funds which were not immediately available to the business group, triggering an offer from Mr Soames to step in with the offer of a loan.

The arrangement saw Mr Soames - who chairs the medical devices group Smith & Nephew and remains a director of the CBI - provide an unsecured, subordinated loan of £750,000.

At the date of the CBI's accounts being approved, £500,000 of the loan had been drawn down, according to the annual report.

The loan from Mr Soames bears interest at 6% a year, although the CBI said it intended to repay it in 2027.

"Late-stage revisions to the commercial terms of the transaction increased the upfront funding requirement," the annual report said.

"Having evaluated other options, including bank facilities, external funding and multi-year membership arrangements, the board concluded that a short-term director loan was the most appropriate solution.

"Although the facility was below the board's £1.0m approval threshold, the board approved it on 23 January 2026 because it involved a related party.

"Mr Soames declared his interest and recused himself from the decision.

"The terms, including the interest rate, were reviewed against comparable financing to confirm they were on arm's-length terms, and the board received independent legal advice from Slaughter and May confirming that the governance process followed was appropriate and that the conflict of interest had been properly managed.

"The CBI's banking group, led by Lloyds Bank plc, also consented, subject to the facility's formal subordination to the CBI's existing overdraft."

The emergence of Mr Soames's loan underlines the extent to which the CBI's finances remain in recovery mode from the crisis three-and-a-half years ago, which saw the ousting of former director-general, Tony Danker.

Mr Danker and the CBI subsequently reached a settlement over his departure which involved him being paid a six-figure sum.

In other respects, however, the CBI's annual report shows an ongoing improvement in its fortunes under Ms Hogg and Rain Newton-Smith, its chief executive.

Membership grew in revenue terms by over 20% during 2025 to £16.1m, while its membership subscription value rose by 8.6% between January and September this year.

The CBI's total income during 2025 increased by £3.1m to £17.1m.

After Mr Danker's suspension and subsequent dismissal, the CBI was frozen out of engagement with government ministers and officials, but has since regained comprehensive access to ministers and Whitehall officials.

Companies including KPMG and NatWest Group, which initially suspended their membership, have also returned to the fold.

The CBI declined to comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: Former CBI chair Soames handed lobby group £750,000 loan