London stock exchange feeling the competition
The London stock exchange has today announced pre-tax profits for the six months to the end of September. The figures have come in at £79.4 million with a significant £13.6 million hit taken with regards to exceptional costs relating primarily to job cuts. However, there was also a 9% fall in revenue to £310.9 million and the company has admitted it is feeling the pinch as competition increases and trading levels remain subdued.
In all honesty the London stock exchange has been losing market share since 2007 when the EU opened up the UK market to competition. Having had a market share of around 96% in January 2008 this has fallen to 58% according to information from Thomson Reuters. The company has also been the target of much bid speculation, and bid activity, over the last few years and many are surprised it is still an independent operation today.
Even though the London stock exchange continues to feel the heat of competition it has a presence and experience in the market place which few others can match. The company may well be struggling at the moment but there are various growth opportunities for the future and many people believe it will eventually merge or takeover one of the major European bourses and rebuild its share of the European market.
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