Gerald Ronson paid himself nearly £13m last year after off-loading large parts of his properties ahead of the economic crash.

The flamboyant chairman and chief executive took £12.89m out of Heron International in 2007 according to accounts recently filed at Companies House.

During the period, Heron paid an £80m dividend to investors as assets soared by 20% following the sale of various properties, despite a fall in pre-tax profits to £35.1m from £56.6m in 2006. Ronson owns 25% of the company, with a group of American investors holding the rest.

Jonathan Goldstein, Heron’s managing director said this summer: 'We disposed of assets and exited development opportunities in order to crystallize profits during 2007.'

The sales included a leisure scheme in Sicily and land elsewhere.

Sunday Telegraph