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STRESS OF SA MOVE LED TO BANKER’S SUICIDE SA investment analyst jumps to death over career and relocation worries
T
by STAFF REPORTER
INSIDE:
SA Power 100: Jaco van Gass | p9
As a paratrooper in the British military, Jaco lost his arm in combat. Last year he was a member of the Walking with the Wounded Everest Expedition.
SA artist paints first official portrait of HRH Kate | p2 Glasgow-born and South African bred artist Paul Emsley was chosen to paint the first official public portrait of Kate Middleton, now The Duchess of Cambridge. The painting is on display at The National Portrait Gallery in London.
South African Property Monthy | p7 Our monthly supplement for prospective buyers of homes and properties in South Africa. Find homes for sale and read some advice on where and how to get value for your money.
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he widow of a South African banker, who jumped to his death from the top of a London restaurant last year, wept as a court heard how he was under ‘enormous pressure’ at work and struggling to pay his children's school fees. An inquest was heard on Friday at the City of London Coroner's Court into the death of Nico Lambrechts, a successful investment analyst at Investec Asset Management, who jumped from the open air restaurant at the top of the No 1 Poultry building in October. Lambrechts died of multiple injuries, including severe head wounds, after climbing over the terrace at the Coq D’Argent and plunging seven floors through the notorious suicide spot’s internal atrium in front of horrified lunchtime diners and shoppers. Witnesses said they heard a ‘loud bang’ as the 46-year-old father of three hit the ground near Bank tube station. The Telegraph reported that medics reached him within minutes but were unable to save him and he was pronounced dead by a doctor at the scene. The court heard that Lambrechts had moved his family to the UK a few years ago to work at Merrill Lynch. When he was employed by rival firm Investec in July 2012 he had agreed to be paid in rands, as the company was due to move its headquarters to Cape Town. But he had struggled to move cash to the UK so he could pay for his children to attend private school. His employer at Investec,
Domenico Ferrini, told the court Lambrechts was “very interested to start and it was a wonderful opportunity within our growing business. I think there were a few things he was worried about. Relocating back to South Africa concerned him and the political climate there - was it the right thing?” Lambrechts allegedly lived in a £2 million home in Surrey and took his family on exotic holidays
Nico Lambrechts and his wife. but the court heard how he had contemplated ending his life. PC Trish Robinson, who investigated the banker’s death, said it was clear “it was a very deliberate act. I think it was just general stress of moving companies, the relocation of his family to South Africa. Three or four weeks beforehand he was at a very low ebb. On one occasion he sent his wife Adele a text message that said he had been sitting contemplating suicide.” His GP, Dr Mark Jenkins, told the court that Lambrechts was healthy apart from being slightly overweight. “I understand from his widow that he was under an enormous amount of pressure from his new work which must have
WIND BLOWING ON THE CAPE FLATS: A major retrospective and the first substantial exhibition in the UK of work by internationally acclaimed South African artist Peter Clarke opens at Iniva gallery in London this week. Details: www.thesouthafrican.com/events become unbearable.” Coroner Dr Roy Palmer recorded a verdict of suicide and said he was sure Lambrechts had intended to take his own life. “I am sure that he intended to die by his actions. You don't fall seven floors and go over a
wall without that.” This was the fourth death at Sir Terence Conran’s restaurant since the financial crash in 2007. The restaurant will now raise the terrace barrier to deter suicide attempts.
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