As Betfair prepares to launch its new contracts for difference exchange LMAX to a buzz of industry hype and activity, and with the backing of global investment house Goldman Sachs, London Capital Group have suggested the impact on their operations will not be significant as it continues to build on its existing portfolio of brokerage businesses.
The London Capital Group, parent company of Capital Spreads, Pro Spreads and InterTrader, has maintained that in spite of the long-awaited launch of the new platform, which many have forecast will shake up the online trading industry and grow to rival the London Stock Exchange, their core business areas will remain strong and largely unaffected.
The news comes off the back of healthy first half revenue and profit figures for the London Capital Group, showing a considerable jump in their bottom line directly attributable to volatility across trading markets – good news, particularly in light of several profit warnings across 2009.
Going further, Chief Executive Simon Denham suggested that it may even turn out to be beneficial for LCG and its various businesses, allowing it to capitalize on the hype of the LMAX launch and pick up some of the new business driven by the high-profile consumer launch of the LMAX brand.
With new accounts up by almost 30% over the last year, and millions already poured into the development and marketing of the LMAX brand, only time will tell whether the LMAX launch will drive up worldwide demand for CFD trading, and whether this will have positive impacts on the market for CFD brokering as a whole.