From its modern facade and enviable views across the City, it is hard to believe that the London Stock Exchange (LSE) began its life in a coffee shop. Yet the institution, which has weathered fires, two years of takeover speculation and a technological revolution during the course of its 300-year history, was formed after a gaggle of rowdy stock dealers sought refuge in a coffee house after being thrown out of the Royal Exchange.

Little of this rowdiness is evident today. The modern LSE is a muted hub of electronic activity where the action happens onscreen rather than on the trading floor.

"We have not used a trading floor for over 20 years," explains general counsel Catherine Johnson. "That all went out with the deregulation which came in with Big Bang. We still get tourists coming in asking to see the trading floor and TV people asking if they can film here, but there is not much to see."