How much am I worth? Vice president, project finance, leading international bank

A panel of specialist headhunters give their assessment of typical London pay packages: Vice president, project finance - salary around 75,000, bonus 50% upwards

For many Londoners, a power cut last month - which stranded commuters and plunged much of the city into darkness for 35 minutes - was proof that insufficient money has been invested in the city's infrastructure.

For certain project financiers, eager to get large projects off the ground, it could turn into something of a godsend. Whether for PPP/municipal finance or straightforward energy projects, the power cut was the sort of dramatic incident which can help get funds flowing.

'The general view from a selection of heads in the project finance sector is that there are some excellent opportunities in the market,' says Chris Haynes of Alexander Mann, noting that utilities and power are among the current hot sectors.

And not just these: anecdotal and practical evidence suggests that project finance is beginning to revive after a few indifferent years, with heavy and light rail and infrastructure among the areas likely to benefit, along with mining and minerals (the last buoyed by current high prices for a range of precious metals).

That is not to say everything is moving: Richard Fraser of RJF Global Search suggests oil/gas and telecoms remain sluggish, the latter yet to fully recover from the blight that hit the sector after the dotcom crash in 2001.

So who is hiring? Fraser says the European banks are leading the way, with Société Générale, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland among those looking to boost their teams.

He notes Italy has also been quite active as a result of regulation changes making securitisation easier, while the trend towards refinancing some project finance deals through securitisation has added zing to the market.

However the ever-keen desire to keep costs under control has led many institutions to consolidate their project finance teams. Some - such as Deutsche Bank - have put their specialists into other teams, whilst other organisations have integrated project finance into larger, more general securitisation and structured finance teams.

So how much does all this make a vice-president in project finance worth these days? For a typical VP experienced in both arranging and advising on deals, with a good reputation and a strong track record, Fraser suggests a base between 60,000 and 90,000 a year is typical.

Haynes echoes this with a ballpark figure of around 75,000. Bonuses are less clear, however; Fraser suggests that last year they ranged between 50% and 90%, which should be sustained this year, whilst Haynes is slightly more circumspect, suggesting 50% plus.

Lack of creditworthiness is the one of the key risk factors that could hamper recovery prospects in the project finance market, although the expected pick-up in the European economy should boost demand for large-scale deals. So, for that matter, could another London power cut.

Figures and commentary supplied by Alexander Mann Global Markets, RJF Global Search