LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned that leading UK spreadbetting, CFD and Forex broker CMC Markets is in the latter stages of preparing a brand new website and trading platform. We expect CMC to formally unveil the changes in the coming weeks, once final testing is completed and a new campaign to market the ‘New CMC’ is ready to go.
The upcoming changes at CMC come on the heels of similar upgrades and rebrands completed by other leading UK online brokers. LeapRate also broke the stories of ETX Capital launching a new logo, website and platform in December, after first beta-testing in South Africa and Ireland. And, of London Capital Group rebranding as LCG alongside a new logo, website and platform.
Similar to those changes, we expect CMC to sport a much more image and visual-centric look, perhaps a new logo, and some changes to its trading platform which most recently received a major upgrade in March 2015.
So what is driving all these changes at UK online brokers?
Peter Cruddas, CMC Markets
In one word – mobile.
With a higher and higher percentage of clients of online brokers conducting their trading business on their smartphones and phablets, brokers have been changing the way the engage with those clients to cater to the new reality. That means less words and more pictures and videos. And mobile trading platforms with capabilities matching or even surpassing those on the desktop versions.
Even Google recently redid its famous logo to make it more mobile-friendly.
CMC’s changes are being put into place as the company is preparing an IPO, a goal it has publicly stated and set for itself for the better part of a year. CMC has been building both its board and management team. The company’s first half 2016 financials (CMC has a March 31 year end) were quite impressive and demonstrated healthy growth. Assuming that 2H-2016 will also come in strong, CMC seems to be well positioned to go public at some point this year.
CMC Markets is controlled by founder and CEO Peter Cruddas who, along with his wife Fiona, owns about 88% of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) owns 9%.