City hero and zero 2014: Fighting Frenchman Soriot ensures AstraZeneca remains in UK hands while Tesco's Clarke got shelved

The Daily Mail City team take a look at British businesses stars and sufferers of 2014. 

HERO OF THE YEAR: Pascal Soriot, Chief executive, AstraZeneca 

As well as winning the Rugby World Cup in 2003, Jonny Wilkinson achieved a very rare feat for an Englishman – being liked by the French as he captained Toulon to successive Heineken Cup victories.

Pascal Soriot, the French boss of pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca, has done the reverse, to become a flagbearer for UK plc.

The quietly spoken chemist managed to ensure another British company did not fall into foreign hands by fending off a £70 billion bid from US rival Pfizer.

Best of British: Frenchman Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca has become a flagbearer for UK plc 

Best of British: Frenchman Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca has become a flagbearer for UK plc 

This showed a real strength of character as he and Astra’s board came under intense pressure from some major shareholders to strike a deal as Pfizer increased his bid.

But in standing firm, Soriot probably managed to save thousands of UK jobs.

The Wellcome Trust, the UK’s largest medical research charity, said as well as putting jobs at risk, a deal would have led to a substantial decline in the research and development of new drugs in the UK.

Sir David Barnes, a former Astra chief executive was more colourful, saying of the bid that it would 'act like a praying mantis, and suck the lifeblood out of their prey.'

The fact that one of Pfizer’s main reasons for wanting to snap up Astra was to cut its tax bill by moving its domicile to the UK, is another reason why Soriot’s stubborn resistance should be applauded.

ZERO OF THE YEAR: Philip Clarke, Former chief executive, Tesco 

Clarke started his career as a shelf-stacker 30 years ago, and rose through the ranks to become chief executive in 2011.

Many long-suffering investors will now be wishing he’d stuck to stacking shelves.

Tesco, which was once a retailing giant that Britain could be proud of, has turned into a basket case.

Annus horribilis: Philip Clarke was forced to resign as chief executive of Tesco in what has been a bad year for the supermarket giant

Annus horribilis: Philip Clarke was forced to resign as chief executive of Tesco in what has been a bad year for the supermarket giant

Clarke finally resigned in July after the latest in a string of profits warnings, driven by weak sales as the behemoth lost market share to discount rivals Aldi and Lidl.

Alarming data published earlier this year suggested Tesco was losing more than a million customer visits a week as its market share recorded its biggest drop for 20 years.

He bumbled on until his successor, former Unilever veteran Dave Lewis, took the helm.

To call this a hospital pass, would be doing marketing supremo Lewis a disservice.

Tesco is now embroiled in the worst scandal in its 95-year history after it emerged that the grocer had been cooking its books under Clarke’s watch.

Eight executives were suspended and the Serious Fraud Office has launched a criminal investigation.

There is no suggestion that Clarke knew this was going on. But the fact that his team felt the need to overstate profits in the first place says much about the firm’s dire performance and his lack of control.

Shares in the retailer have halved over the past year, as the spluttering performance and the accounting scandal have taken a heavy toll.

At least – fingers crossed – Tesco has stopped selling horsemeat burgers.