First Bats, then letters and now law suits. The battle of the stock exchanges continues.
Plus Markets, which gained recognised investment exchange status last year, has left this missile in its latest interim results:
PLUS Markets is disappointed that HM Treasury have not been able to realise plans to liberalise trading in AIM securities. The recent outage at London Stock Exchange plc (“the LSE”) particularly highlights the need for an alternative. Consequently, the Exchange is rapidly proceeding with the creation of PLUS-Europe, which will include the trading of all AIM securities from launch.
Additionally, the Exchange has issued proceedings in the High Court which challenge the LSE rule which prevents member firms of PLUS-Europe which are also members of the LSE from executing trades in AIM securities on a non-LSE market. PLUS considers this to be anti-competitive and seeks a High Court declaration that the rule is null and void or otherwise unenforceable. “PLUS believes that the rule is unnecessary and disproportionate and the burden of demonstrating otherwise rests with the LSE. Consequently, it is PLUS’ case that the rule represents an abuse of the LSE’s dominant position,” said Director of Regulatory Strategy Jamie Whitehorn.
Plus, led by CEO Simon Brickles, has been seeking to challenge the LSE for some time now — setting its sights on a larger slice of the smaller companies pie presently residing (for the most part) under the LSE’s Aim branch. Under current rules, each Aim company must seek permission from the LSE before its shares can be traded on Plus. So far only 90 out of more than 1,600 companies have done so.
Making the rivalry all the more desperate intense is the fact that Brickles left AIM to join Plus (then Ofex) in 2003. He’s also a former barrister.
Bad news for Dame Clara Furse. Again.
Related links:
Letter-writing for stock exchanges – FT Alphaville
Where’s the FTSE? Parts I, II, III, IV – FT Alphaville