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London Stock Exchange: Collins Stewart Joins Proquote As A Retail Service Provider

Date 08/11/2004

The London Stock Exchange today announced that Proquote, its market data and trading terminal business, has signed up Collins Stewart, one of the UK’s leading independent stockbroking firms, as a Retail Service Provider (RSP). Collins Stewart will provide equity trading and price quotation services to Proquote clients.

The addition of Collins Stewart to Proquote’s range of RSPs will add significant value to Proquote’s growing client base, providing access to a greater range of prices and assets and enhancing opportunities for achieving better execution prices.

Today’s announcement follows news earlier this month that Panmure Gordon (Lazard), another leading UK stockbroker, was also joining Proquote as an RSP, adding to a distinguished list which includes Merrill Lynch, Winterflood Securities, Aitken Campbell, KBC Peel Hunt, Evolution Securities Limited, and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW).

David Lester, Chief Information Officer of the London Stock Exchange, commented: “Since the London Stock Exchange acquired Proquote, the core strategy has been to improve the service to clients by increasing liquidity in the system and broadening the range of assets that are offered. Signing up more Retail Service Providers is central to giving clients a better service and we are pleased that Collins Stewart is now part of Proquote’s RSP portfolio.”

Tony Scawthorn, Chief Operating Officer of Collins Stewart, said today: “We feel that Proquote's excellent interface for Retail Service Providers combined with the platform's wide use by our existing counterparties has allowed us to add significant value to the service we provide. We look forward to working with Proquote to deliver this service and develop the relationship further.”

The London Stock Exchange acquired Proquote in January 2003 and it is now run as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Exchange. Proquote provides over 2,300 terminals to 160 corporate clients including Charles Stanley, Gerrards, Prudential Bache, Investec Henderson Crosthwaite and TD Waterhouse.