LSE cuts jobs amid increased competition

The new head of the London Stock Exchange today said the bourse had cut 133 jobs as rivals eat away at the business.

Chief executive Xavier Rolet - the former French head of failed investment bank Lehman Brothers - said the cuts represented 12% of staff and would save £11m (€12m) a year.

The job losses have been split equally between London and Milan, where LSE owners the Borsa Italiana business.

The LSE, which is under pressure from smaller trading platforms such as Turquoise and Chi-X, said average daily 'bargains' or trades in London had fallen 10% to £633m (€693.49m) in the five months to August 31.

The average daily value of stocks traded slumped 43% to £4.6bn (€5bn), reflecting the sharp fall in shares seen earlier in the year.

Mr Rolet, who succeeded Dame Clara Furse in May, said market conditions remained "challenging".

"We continue to take action to ensure the group is well placed to compete and develop," he added.

The firm is looking to tackle the competitive threat from rivals through cutting its tariffs to give a better deal to its biggest customers trading large volumes of shares.

This will hit yields on its UK equities business by around 10%, the company said.

Companies raised £43bn (€47.1bn) in funds on the LSE's exchanges during the period, broadly in line with the previous year.

The firm grew volumes on its IDEM derivatives trading business by 17%, but also saw declining demand for its real-time stock market data on the LSE and Borsa Italiana.

Shares fell 3% following the update. Killik & Co's Jonathan Jackson said: "The update highlights the tough environment in which the group is trading."