Tapper

"The threat of the float being kiboshed never became public but it caused two weeks of great anxiety behind the scenes amid furious letter-writing by both parties’ lawyers. Heatley was affronted on behalf of his friends. Although he and Sheffield were just getting established, Tapper and George’s reputations were impeccable. But the official held a powerful position and because the market already knew that the float was imminent, if Rainbow’s partners could not persuade him that the company’s forecasts were genuine, the float would have to be cancelled. If that happened, the partners’ names might forever be tainted by the association."

"Tapper and Margaret George had loyally hung on to their Rainbow shares, thinking that as founders and owners they should do so. Their personal stakes, which had less than a year before been worth a small fortune, were now much reduced. ‘If I had my time again, I’d sell on the way through,’ says George. It had been an amazing ride but, just like that log canoe a mere three years earlier, it seemed things were quickly coming off the rails."