Forum Trading Solutions Limited (“FORUM”) has acquired PLUS Trading Solutions Limited (“PLUS-TS”), a trading technology platform and regulatory managed services provider owned and operated by PLUS Markets Group plc. Post the acquisition Forum Trading Solutions will be fully amalgamated into PLUS-TS and be known as Forum Trading Solutions.
FORUM founder shareholders consist of Hirander Misra, the former co-founder and COO of Chi-X Europe, Tony Harrop, the Plus Markets Group CTO, Richard Atkins, formerly Head of Trading System Management & Development at the London Stock Exchange and all 8 employees of the PLUS-TS technology team. Hirander Misra, the largest shareholder, has been appointed non-executive Chairman of FORUM, with Tony Harrop appointed as Managing Director and Richard Atkins as non-executive Director.
FORUM is a unique fully managed neutral‘exchange-in-a-box’ matching and surveillance service with its own intellectual property. It gives investment banks, brokers and trading venues their own innovative matching system solution that can not only help them comply with the new regulations, but also enabling them to create new business growth opportunities across multiple asset classes, including equities, equity derivatives, swaps, bonds and FX products. FORUM already provides managed trading services to both PLUS Stock Exchange (“PLUS-SX”), which is in the process of being acquired by ICAP Holdings Ltd and PLUS Derivatives Exchange (“PLUS-DX”).
Hirander Misra, Non Executive Chairman of Forum Trading Solutions said: “We are delighted to provide managed trading services to PLUS-SX, enabling its smooth operation going forward, in addition to offering our unique “exchange-in-a-box”services to other trading venues. Quite simply the age of the 0.1bps cash equities MTF model is old news given forthcoming regulatory change. FORUM responds to the growing demand from market participants to segregate or create their own marketplaces with a cost effective fixed license fee model irrespective of the asset class traded. All that too enabled by exchange technology that we believe is the fastest and most resilient in the world.”
Tony Harrop, Managing Director of Forum Trading Solutions added: “One month ago, the team were looking at a wind-down situation and the premature end of a great solution.
The team had been working hard on producing the most streamlined and highest performance multi asset exchange trading platform that can run on standard hardware and by setting up Forum we have the opportunity to progress and deliver something that we all believe in. This also gives the best outcome for the PLUS quoted companies as there will be no change in their service going forward.”
