to set up a financial consultancy company on the Island.

Retfin Bermuda Ltd., which is in the process of being incorporated as an exempted company, will act as an advisor to financial asset management companies which want to set up offshore.

"I'm going back to what I was doing before I joined the Bank of Bermuda,'' Mr. Vaughan-Johnson said yesterday.

He joined the Bank of Bermuda in 1989 as senior vice president and general manager, private banking, and succeeded Donald Lines as president and chief executive officer in 1994. He retired in March this year when Henry Smith took over the helm.

Before joining the bank he operated a financial consultancy in the Bahamas.

BEE LINE TAKEN OVER BUC Bee Line taken over Harrison and Brenda Simons have taken over the management of financially troubled Bee Line Transportation.

As minority shareholders, they are currently in negotiations to buy a majority interest in the company, which competes with Bermuda Hosts Ltd. in providing transportation between the airport and the major hotels. Mr. Simons has been involved with the company as managing director.

Lawyer Ian Kawaley said Bee Line had settled a petition to liquidate the company made to the Supreme Court by Raymond and Debbie Tannock, the former operators of the Crawl Hill Esso Service Station.

Apparently the Simons are looking for partners to take over Bee Line. An agreement in principle to take a majority stake is in place while the previous management have been relieved of the day-to-day operations in the company.

WINTERHUR OPTIMISTIC BUC Winterthur optimistic WINTERTHUR, Switzerland (Bloomberg) -- Winterthur Insurance Co. repeated it sees a "double-digit'' profit rise this year as earnings are boosted by financial income. It said the year through May was "positive.'' Switzerland's second-largest direct insurer, which owns Bermuda subsidiary Winterthur International Services Ltd., said last month it expects net profit to rise by more than ten percent a year through 1999 as revenue grows in Europe and North America.

"The first five months of this year saw a continuation of the positive trend,'' Chief Executive Peter Spaelti said.