Arsenal FC leads euro league table

Premiership champions Arsenal have opened a euro bank account to deal with continental transactions, in what is believed to be a financial first for a British football club.

The account will be used for transfer fees and competition prize money.

But the players, including Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp (above), will still be paid in sterling.

Despite the UK staying outside the first wave of the euro, many UK-based companies, such as Arsenal, are already embracing the euro. Most of these are multinationals, who have said they want suppliers to invoice and pay them in euros.

Richard Baron, deputy head of policy at the Institute of Directors, said one advantage for employees being paid in euros was that employers took on the exchange-rate risk when converting the money.

Baron said some companies might seek to pay their staff partly in euros, particularly for employees who held mortgages denominated in the currency.