London Stock Exchange Completes Record Breaking Year With A Sprint - SETS Trading Up 67 Per Cent

Trading on the London Stock Exchange continued to be extremely strong during December 2006. Despite two half days during the month, the average daily number of trades on SETS was 346,286, up 67 per cent on December 2005, while the average daily value traded increased 47 per cent to £6.0 billion, making what is traditionally a quiet period the third busiest month on record. Up to 15 December, the average daily number of trades was 402,579, 30 per cent ahead of the average for the year as a whole.

The total number of trades executed on SETS during December was 6.6 million trades, and the total value traded was £114.1 billion.

This capped a record year for trading on SETS. For the year as a whole, the total number of trades on the order book was up 52 per cent on last year to 78.2 million trades, while the value traded increased 44 per cent to £1.5 trillion.

Included in the December SETS figures was a very active month on SETSmm, with 1.5 million trades worth £11.1 billion, representing increases of 111 per cent and 76 per cent respectively on December last year. For the year as a whole, the total number of trades on SETSmm grew 127 per cent to 16.6 million, while the total value traded grew 90 per cent to £128.6 billion.

Trading on the IOB was also very strong during December: the total number of trades during the month increased 80 per cent on last year to 49,900 while the total value traded increased 85 per cent to £4.0 billion.

The average daily number of trades in UK equities was up 55 per cent on December last year to 388,028, and the average daily value traded increased 36 per cent to £12.8 billion. The total number of trades in UK shares throughout 2006 was 89.6 million, and the total value traded reached £3.2 trillion.

The total value traded in ETFs during December was £1.8 billion, and there were 23,057 trades. 2006 was a year of rapid growth in ETF trading and the total number of ETF trades during the year grew 110 per cent on last year to 268,117. The total value traded grew by 96 per cent to £18.1 billion.

December also provided a strong finish to a record year on the Exchange's primary markets. There were nine IPOs on the Main Market during December, raising £1.9 billion, of which £1.5 billion was raised by six IPOs from international companies. AIM attracted 39 IPOs during the month, raising £1.8 billion between them. Of these new AIM companies, eleven were international companies, raising £365.6 million between them.

In the last three months of the year, AIM companies raised a total £3.5 billion through IPOs, up 26 per cent on the corresponding quarter last year, itself a very strong period for fund-raising.

The Exchange's markets attracted 367 IPOs during the year, raising a record £29.4 billion, an increase of 81 per cent on the £16.3 billion raised by IPOs on the Exchange's markets last year. The 2006 totals included 89 IPOs on the Exchange's Main Market and Professional Securities Market, raising £20.1 billion and 278 IPOs on AIM, raising £9.3 billion.

RNS, the Exchange's service for the dissemination of company news, recorded its highest volumes ever, transmitting 17,123 company announcements during December, up 26 per cent on the same month last year. Of these 4,963 were news and results announcements, representing 86 per cent of all company news and results announcements issued in the UK .

There were 19 trading days in December 2006, one fewer than in December 2005.

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Notes to editors:

• About the London Stock Exchange
  
  The London Stock Exchange is the world’s premier international equity exchange and a leading provider of services that facilitate the raising of capital and the trading of shares.
  
  The London Stock Exchange is the most international equities exchange in the world and Europe's largest pool of liquidity. By the end of 2006, the market capitalisation of UK and international companies on the London Stock Exchange’s markets amounted to £4.4 trillion, with £6.7 trillion of equity business transacted over the year.
  
  The London Stock Exchange is a Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and is supervised by the Financial Services Authority.
  
  Companies considering flotation have a choice of markets:
  
  AIM
  
  AIM is the London Stock Exchange’s international market specifically designed for smaller, growing companies, combining the benefits of a public flotation with appropriate levels of regulation.
  
  Main Market
  
  The London Stock Exchange’s Main Market for established companies seeking international recognition is one of the world’s best known, longest-established and most liquid markets. It is home to some of the world’s largest and most successful companies, giving them access to one of the deepest pools of capital in the world.
  
  Professional Securities Market
  
  The Professional Securities Market was established in July 2005, to coincide with the introduction of the FSA's new Listing Rules. PSM provides a solution for those issuers seeking to list securities in London without having to re-state their financial information to IFRS or follow the additional requirements of an offering to retail investors. Debt securities or depository receipts of any denomination may be listed on PSM on production of a prospectus aimed at a wholesale or professional audience.



• IPO
  
  An IPO or Initial Public Offering is when a new company joins one of our markets and raises capital by issuing shares. This excludes transfers and introductions (when companies join the market without raising money).



• Indices
  
  Indices are calculated and managed by FTSE Group, a world-leader in the creation and management of global equity indices. The FTSE Group is jointly owned by the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Times, but operates as an autonomous company.
  
  For information about the company or any FTSE indices, please contact media@ftse.com.



• SETS – the electronic order book
  
  It is over eight years since the launch of SETS and the order book continues to go from strength to strength, compressing spreads and significantly improving liquidity. SETS has recently delivered record increases in the number of orders entered and executed as new technology improves efficiency and fuels growth.



• SETSmm
  
  SETSmm is the Exchange’s trading service for FTSE 250 and other leading non order book securities. By combining the best features of the existing SETS and SEAQ trading services, SETSmm appeals to market users who want to trade electronically, as well as those customers who use the market making system.



• International Order Book (IOB)
  
  The IOB is the Exchange's order book for the trading of international Depositary Receipts, negotiable certificates which represent ownership of a given number of a company’s shares and can be listed and traded independently from the underlying shares.



• Retail Trading Figures
  
  Retail trading figures are available from our website at – www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/products/membershiptrading/retailtradestat Figures are available from November 2002 to date.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE - MONTHLY FACTSHEET FIGURES

	December 2006			December 2005
DOMESTIC EQUITY TRADING	Month	Year to date		Month	Year to date
Equity Trading Value (£m)	242,676	3,210,536		187,905	2,497,539
Number of Equity Trades	7,372,531	89,589,649		5,006,669	63,073,310
INTERNATIONAL EQUITY TRADING
Equity Trading Value (£m)	308,243	3,447,680		255,848	2,702,929
Number of Equity Trades	2,055,005	21,763,043		1,639,316	18,089,550

ORDER BOOK TRADING
Order Book Value (£m)	114,125	1,511,411		81,916	1,052,135
Order Book Trades	6,579,432	78,246,367		4,157,196	51,415,546

	December 2006		December 2005
DOMESTIC MARKET CAPITALISATION (£bn)		2,023		1,838
TOTAL NUMBER OF COMPANIES		3,256		3,093
Main Market UK	1,276		1,358
Main Market International	330		334
of which techMARK	134		148
AIM	1,634		1,399
Professional Securities Market (Equity only)	16		2

	December 2006		December 2005
MONEY RAISED (£m)	Month	Year to date	Month	Year to date
Equity Money Raised:
New issues: Main Market UK	331	9,088	1,124	6,078
New issues: Main Market International	1,540	10,451	686	4,583
New issues: AIM	1,876	9,944	2,018	6,461
Further issues: Main Market UK	157	14,445	380	8,518
Further issues: Main Market International	-	1,716	726	1,051
Further issues: AIM	629	5,734	499	2,481
PSM (new & further, UK & International)	-	606	-	38
COMPANIES ADMITTED	80	578	83	626
Debt Money Raised (£m)
Main Market UK	12,406	216,495	34,319	148,309
Main Market International	14,922	197,795	13,542	121,078
PSM (UK & International)	820	11,577	3,223	27,558