Aquis gears up for £12m float on London Stock Exchange

Share-trading venue Aquis Exchange is set to float on Thursday as it seeks to raise £12m following previous investment.

The pan-European cash equities exchange, which is aiming to be valued at £73m with a share price at around 269p, is planning to list on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim).

With the firm having already raised £32m from investors, the proceeds from the initial public offering (IPO) will go towards accelerating software licensing capabilities and further investing in both the sales and marketing divisions.

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Aquis is Europe’s ninth-largest equity trading venue, but it will be hoping that the float can help boost its presence in the City and attract more investors.

Alasdair Haynes, who founded Aquis back in 2012, was at one stage thought to be a potential future chief executive of the London Stock Exchange.

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As well as the £12m gained from the float, a further £20m will be raised from the sale of stakes like that of the Warsaw Stock Exchange’s 20 per cent holding.

In a statement Haynes said: “We are delighted to list Aquis Exchange on AIM. Aquis is disrupting the European trading landscape with a unique operating model underpinned by subscription-based pricing and a compelling offer to traders which combines good liquidity with market-leading low levels of toxicity.”