A benchmarking study last year found that Imperial College was paying 150 professors more than £80,000 a year.
Lancaster University, meanwhile, has introduced a three-band professorial pay scheme that starts at £54,000 and rises to a new "distinguished professor" tier, which begins at £81,000 a year and has no pay ceiling.
--- http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=209290§ioncode=26