Former KPMG UK chair heads up LSE probe into boardroom showdown which led to Xavier Rolet departure

An independent review of last year’s boardroom crisis at the London Stock Exchange Group is underway, led by a City heavyweight.

The LSE has turned to Simon Collins, a former UK chairman of KPMG, to head up the probe, according to Sky News.

LSE chair Donad Brydon has written to its 20 largest shareholders to inform them of the review into a crisis which led to the ousting of chief executive Xavier Rolet late last year.

One investor told Sky News that Collins has access to documents and major players in the drama, including Rolet. The review is understood to be have been ongoing for several weeks.

Collins is expected to present a report to the group in a few weeks.

Rolet’s retirement was announced in autumn last year, shocking many in the City.

The move prompted claims that he was being pushed out by Brydon. The board of the FTSE 100 firm then beat off an attempt by investor Sir Chris Hohn to remove Brydon.

No successor has yet been named for Rolet, but the LSE said at its last results that it was making “good progress” on recruitment with a “strong field of high-quality candidates”.

Shareholders say they have been told that the LSE has ruled out appointing an internal successor.

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