Bunhill: The City takes care of its own

THE City takes care of its own, part 94. Take the case of Peter Rawlins, the former chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, who resigned when Taurus, the automated share- settlement system he was trying to put in place had to be abandoned at a cost to City firms of more than pounds 100m.

While Mr Rawlins reigned at the Stock Exchange, Andersen Consulting, the management consultancy firm, was contracted to do a tidy amount of work.

Andersen was given the go- ahead to build a new trading system for the Exchange at a cost of pounds 40m, and in 1992 the Exchange contracted out its information technology operations for five years, making 32 staff redundant.

So it is little surprise to find that the clay pigeon-shooting Mr Rawlins has found some part-time work at, surprise, surprise, Andersen Consulting. He does not work full time from the company's offices but yes, confirms Andersen's Vernon Ellis: 'He has done some advice for us.'