FxPro Group Limited
06 September 2010
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NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR
INTO, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, SOUTH AFRICA OR JAPAN
6th September 2010
FxPro Group Limited Announces Intention to Float on AIM
FxPro Group Limited (the "Company"), the online financial services business,
today announces a proposed placing of approximately 30 per cent. of its existing
issued share capital and its intention to seek admission to trading on the AIM
market of the London Stock Exchange plc ("Admission").
Admission
Admission is expected to take place in October 2010.
Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited is acting as sole bookrunner to the
transaction.
FxPro
FxPro Financial Services Limited ("FxPro"), the principal trading subsidiary of
the Company's group of companies ("Group"), which started trading in late 2007,
is an award winning, cash generative, online financial services business with a
track record of rapid profitable growth. The Group's core business is acting as
principal to its clients in respect of foreign exchange derivatives, principally
contracts for difference ("CFD"). FxPro also offers CFDs on equities, indices,
commodities (including gold and other metals) and futures.
FxPro acts as a counterparty to its predominantly retail client base and
executes client orders at competitive spreads.
FxPro, which employs over 160 people worldwide, is headquartered in Limassol,
Cyprus and has representative offices in London, Nice, Vienna, Athens, Moscow
and Madrid. It is a global business with clients in approximately 120 countries
to whom it provides 24/7 customer support in 18 languages. The Company is
regulated in Cyprus by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission ("CySEC")
and is therefore able to provide its services into all other EU member states
operating under the EU, Markets in Financial Instruments Directive as amended.
It should be noted that the imposition of the Company as the Group's holding
company will be implemented prior to Admission.
FxPro business highlights
Ø Exposure to the rapidly growing retail foreign exchange market;
Ø Track record of strong growth and profitability;
Ø Sound financial position, no debt and cash generative;
Ø Widespread brand recognition in the retail foreign exchange market; and
Ø Global coverage and diverse client base, thereby avoiding reliance on any
single country.
The Market Opportunity
The foreign exchange market is the largest capital market in the world. The
preliminary results of the Bank for International Settlements' Triennial Central
Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivative Market Activity was released on
1st September 2010 and cited that global foreign exchange market turnover was 20
per cent. higher in April 2010 than in April 2007. This increase brought
average daily turnover to $4.0 trillion. The 2007 Bank for International
Settlements' Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivative
Market Activity cited the increased use of electronic platforms including
automated trading models, as well as the significant expansion in the trading
activity of hedge funds and other funds and retail investors, as the key drivers
of the increase in foreign exchange trading volumes. The directors of the
Company (the "Directors") believe that these increases in trading volumes have
also been, in part, driven by global markets becoming more integrated.
The Directors believe that currencies are now widely accepted as an asset class.
The foreign exchange market is now a global market, operating 24 hours a day, 5
days a week.
The Directors believe that trading in foreign exchange has obvious attractions
to retail investors including:
· the market is extremely liquid and as a result trading spreads are narrow.
Furthermore, brokers such as FxPro do not charge commissions to clients trading
in foreign exchange;
· innovations in technology mean that the market is easily accessible, via
multiple trading platforms, including mobile phones, 24 hours a day five days a
week;
· trading on margin means that a client can utilise more capital than they
may have in their account;
· clients' ability to take short as well as long positions;
· being used by clients as a hedge against risks in other parts of their
portfolio; and
· providing uncorrelated returns.
These factors have fuelled significant growth in retail participation in the
foreign exchange market. This participation, was forecast by the Aite Group to
be a daily volume of $125 billion as at the end of 2009, which would represent a
compounded annual growth rate of 37 per cent. from 2001.
The Directors believe that another factor fuelling the growth in the retail
participation in the foreign exchange market is the emergence of affluent
entrepreneurial middle classes in emerging markets such as those of South East
Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
As a result of all the factors outlined above the Board believes the outlook for
increased retail participation in the foreign exchange market remains positive.
Track Record of Strong Growth and Profitability
The Group has grown rapidly in terms of revenue, profit and number of clients
and has no debt. Net income has increased from GBP18.5 million for the year
ended 31 December 2008 to GBP34.1 million for the year ended 31 December 2009,
and for the six month period ended 30 June 2010 net income was GBP26.5 million.
In terms of profit, for the corresponding periods, profit after tax has
increased from GBP4.8 million to GBP9.6 million, and for the six month period
ended 30 June 2010 profit after tax was GBP10.9 million. Over the same period
the number of active clients has increased from 13,840 to 15,553 and as at 30
June 2010 FxPro had 16,980 active clients (an active client is defined as a
client that has traded at least once with FxPro over the previous three months).
Widespread Brand Recognition
The Group has achieved widespread brand recognition in the retail foreign
exchange market, driven in part by the Group's high profile marketing and
advertising initiatives. FxPro is currently the shirt sponsor of Aston Villa
F.C. and Fulham F.C. and is also a sponsor of the Virgin Racing F1 team. The
Group also advertises extensively on financial websites such as Bloomberg as
well as Bloomberg TV and Euronews. The Directors believe that Admission will
further increase the profile of the Group, thereby attracting more clients, and
enable the Company, if required, to access the capital markets to support its
strategic objectives as suitable opportunities arise.
Panagiotis Xydas, Chief Executive Officer of FxPro, commented:
"We are an exciting company with a strong track record of profitable growth in a
rapidly growing market. Our ongoing commitment to providing a range of
innovative products and services to our clients, combined with our premier
customer services and global footprint has helped us create a leading position
in the market. FxPro aims to exploit the opportunities presented by the
continued growth of the FX market globally, and we look forward to entering a
new and exciting phase of the Group's development."
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| Enquiries: | |
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| | |
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| FxPro | +44 (0) 20 7776 9720 |
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| George Xydas | |
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| | |
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| Macquarie Capital (Europe) | +44 (0) 20 3037 2000 |
| Limited | |
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| Jonny Franklin Adams | |
+---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| Ben Oakley | |
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| | |
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| Financial Dynamics | + 44 (0) 20 7269 7132 |
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| Edward Gascoigne-Pees | |
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| Andrew Walton | |
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| Caroline Parker | |
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The board of directors of the Company at Admission will be:
Jim Sutcliffe, Non-Executive Chairman
Jim Sutcliffe joined FxPro as non-executive chairman in July 2010. Mr Sutcliffe
was, up until mid-2008, the Group CEO of Old Mutual plc, the FTSE-100
international life insurance and asset management company with 55,000 employees
and over GBP1bn of operating profit. Prior to Old Mutual, Mr Sutcliffe was the
Deputy Chairman of Liberty International plc and prior to that was at Prudential
plc, holding a number of senior positions including that of the Chief Executive
of Prudential UK.
Mr Sutcliffe is currently a Non-Executive Director of CVC Capital Partners,
Lonmin plc and Sun Life of Canada. In addition, Mr Sutcliffe is a Director of
the Financial Reporting Council and Chairman of the Actuarial Standards Board.
He has a degree from the University of Cape Town and is a Fellow of the
Institute of Actuaries.
Panagiotis Xydas, Chief Executive Officer
Panagiotis Xydas joined FxPro in 2007 and was appointed as Chief Executive
Officer in 2008. Mr Xydas previously founded Iron Trust Ltd, a large document
storage and management company in Cyprus and Serbia. His experience includes the
establishment of a securities brokerage company as well as the set-up and
management of a business consulting company.
Mr Xydas holds an MBA from the Golden Gate University of San Francisco,
California, as well as a Bachelors Degree. Furthermore, he holds an associate
diploma in Mergers & Acquisitions and Finance from the Golden Gate University.
Charalambos Psimolophitis CFA, Finance Director
Charalambos Psimolophitis joined the FxPro in 2009. Previously, he was a partner
at XS Capital Securities & Financial Services and over the period between
2000-2005 he acted as the Head of Research at Mega Equity Financial Services,
one of the largest brokerage houses in Cyprus.
Mr Psimolophitis holds a BSc (Hons) from King's College London in Business and
Management and is a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst. Mr. Psimolophitis has
also been approved by Cysec.
George Xydas CFA, Director of International Operations
George Xydas was appointed as director of international operations in October
2009. Mr Xydas was the founder of XS Capital Securities & Financial Services (an
investment house specialising in active management of property development funds
in Europe). Prior to that, Mr Xydas held several positions at Severis &
Athienitis Financial Services Ltd, a large investment house in Cyprus, where he
was started his career as an equity analyst, moved to institutional sales,
corporate broking and was responsible for corporate finance origination.
Mr Xydas holds a BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance from Southbank University
(London) and an MSc in Finance from Golden Gate University, San Francisco. Mr
Xydas is also a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst and has been approved by
CySec.
Michalis Sarris, Non-Executive Director
Michalis Sarris joined FxPro as a Non-Executive Director in August 2010. Over
the last 35 years Mr. Sarris has held senior positions at a number of blue-chip
private organisations and public bodies worldwide.
In 1972 he joined the research department of the Central Bank of Cyprus, working
in the area of policy analysis, before moving to the Bank of Cyprus (1974) where
he was responsible for setting up the bank's capacity for evaluating the
economic and financial viability of its large lending operations. Following his
time with the Bank of Cyprus, Mr. Sarris worked at the World Bank (1975 - 2004),
rising to the position of Director before retiring from the post. Recent
engagements also include serving a term as the Cypriot Minister of Finance (2005
- 2008).
Mr. Sarris received his BSc (Hons) in Economics from the London School of
Economics, specialising in monetary theory and policy, and continued his studies
in the United States at Wayne State University where he obtained a Doctorate in
Economics.
Non-Executive Director
A further independent non-executive director will be appointed by the Company
prior to Admission.
Senior Management
Denis Sukhotin, Marketing Director
Denis Sukhotin is a founding shareholder of FxPro Cyprus and is currently the
director of marketing. Mr Sukhotin is also one of the founders of Iron Trust
Ltd. Prior to co-establishing FxPro, during the period 1998-2000 Mr Sukhotin was
responsible for the Russian equity sales desk of Severis & Athienitis Financial
Services Ltd, a large investment house in Cyprus, and introducing Russian and
CIS clients to the Cyprus Stock Exchange.
Mr. Sukhotin holds a Masters Degree in Finance and Economics from the Moscow
Institute of Entrepreneurship and Law, and a Diploma in Business Administration
from CTL College in Cyprus.
Disclaimer
This announcement, which has been prepared by and is the sole responsibility of
the Company, has been approved by Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited for the
purposes of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
This announcement is for information only. It does not constitute or form part
of, any offer or invitation to acquire, underwrite or dispose of, or any
solicitation of any offer to acquire, underwrite or dispose of any shares or
other securities of the Company in any jurisdiction nor shall it, nor any part
of it, form the basis of or be relied upon in connection with any contract or
commitment relating to such activity in any jurisdiction. In particular, this
announcement is not a prospectus or an admission document and the recipients of
this announcement should not subscribe for or purchase any shares or other
securities referred to in this announcement except on the basis of information
in the Admission Document to be published by the Company in due course in
connection with the admission of the Company's shares to trading on AIM.
The information in this announcement is for background purposes only and does
not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on
the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy or completeness.
This announcement and, when effected, the placing referred to in it (the
"Placing") are and will only be addressed to, and will only be directed at,
persons in member states of the European Economic Area who are "qualified
investors" within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive
(Directive 2003/71/EC).
The Placing and the distribution of this announcement and other information in
connection with the Placing in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law
and persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform
themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with
these restrictions may constitute a violation of the laws (including the
securities laws) of any such jurisdiction.
This announcement is not for publication or distribution, directly or
indirectly, in whole or in part, in or into the United States (including its
territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of
Columbia), Canada, Australia, South Africa or Japan or any other jurisdiction
where to do the same would constitute a violation of the relevant laws
(including securities laws) of such jurisdiction.
In particular, the securities of the Company have not been and will not be
registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities
Act"). Accordingly, they may not be offered or sold in the United States, absent
registration or an exemption from the registration requirements of the
Securities Act. No public offering of securities will be made in the United
States.
All statements in this announcement other than statements of historical fact are
"forward-looking statements". In some cases, these forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms
"targets", "believes" "estimates", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may",
"will" or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or
comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements in this announcement include
statements regarding the Company's intention to seek admission of its shares to
trading on AIM, the proposed Placing, and the expected timing and execution of
such plans. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may
or may not occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance. Actual results and future events may differ materially from
those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. No reliance may be
placed on any forward looking statement in this announcement. Forward looking
statements speak only as of the date of this announcement and are not a guide to
future performance. Each of the Company, Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited and
their respective affiliates and directors, officers and employees of each of the
foregoing expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update, review or
revise any forward looking statement contained in this announcement whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited is regulated in the United Kingdom by the
Financial Services Authority ("FSA"), and is acting for the Company and no one
else in connection with the Placing and will not regard any other person
(whether or not a recipient of this announcement) as a client in relation to the
Placing and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for
providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in
relation to the Placing or any matters referred to in this announcement. Apart
from the responsibilities and liabilities, if any, which may be imposed on
Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited by the Financial Services and Markets Act
2000, as amended or the regulatory regime established thereunder, Macquarie
Capital (Europe) Limited does not accept any responsibility whatsoever for the
contents of this announcement including its accuracy, completeness or
verification, or for any other statement made or purported to be made by it, or
on its behalf, in connection with the Company, its ordinary shares or other
securities or the Placing. Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited accordingly
disclaims all and any liability whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise
(save as referred to above) which they might otherwise have in respect of this
announcement or any such statement.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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