Earlier this month, John Fingleton, currently head of the Irish Competition Authority, was named as the new chief executive of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), taking on one of the UK’s most high-profile regulatory roles.

His appointment followed the decision to split the chief executive and chairman functions held by current head Sir John Vickers, as required by the Enterprise Act 2002, with veteran Lovells competition partner Philip Collins already confirmed as the body’s new chair.