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LSE volumes boosted by trading system
More algorithmic and black box trades on the way

By Julian Goldsmith

Published: Tuesday 27 May 2008

Trading volumes at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) increased by more than 80 per cent during the year following the implementation of its new trading platform. It also said algorithmic or so-called "black box" trading is also growing fast.

The LSE delivered strong revenue growth in its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March, recording revenue up 56 per cent to £546.4m for the year.

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Clara Furse, chief executive of the Exchange, said it had delivered "excellent results", with each division recording strong growth, despite more testing conditions towards the end of the year.

"In particular, Trading Services delivered an exceptional performance, following the successful launch of TradElect, the Exchange's new trading platform, as trading volumes increased by more than eighty per cent during the year," she said in a statement.

The Exchange's new trading platform was launched in June 2007 to provide significantly increased capacity and enables customers to trade at much higher frequency and with greater certainty of execution.

An upgrade took place in October to further improve performance and add new functionality, and other enhancements are planned over the next 12 months.

The LSE said: "The investment we have made in this new generation technology, together with the investment taking place by customers in new trading technologies and programmes continues to create a shift in the nature of order flow as new, higher velocity algorithmic/black box trading by hedge funds, intermediaries and specialist technical trading firms continue to grow strongly."