LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned that ASIC regulated, Melbourne, Australia based retail forex broker Pepperstone is getting set to announce a major expansion in the UK and Europe.
One of Australia’s leading Retail Forex and CFD brokers, Pepperstone has already finalized the FCA license of its UK subsidiary, Pepperstone Limited. Pepperstone acquired what is now its UK subsidiary from online entrepreneur Mohammed Tayeb, who alongside his broker Omar Tayeb established an FCA regulated shell with plans to launch a retail forex brokerage called 123FX.com. The business was never launched, and instead was sold to Pepperstone.
A visit to www.123fx.com already leads directly to Pepperstone’s (Australian) website.
Pepperstone is still in the process of receiving UK regulatory approvals for the management team which will be running the business, with plans for a formal launch of the business before the end of 2016.
Owen Kerr, Pepperstone
Pepperstone earlier this year received a multi million dollar investment from CHAMP Private Equity, one of Australia’s leading private equity firms. Following that announcement we ran an interview with Pepperstone CEO Owen Kerr in which he mentioned that they were certainly making plans to expand into Europe. So, the FCA license and UK beachhead shouldn’t really come as a surprise.
The move by Pepperstone is the latest by a number of leading regional forex brokers, looking to add FCA regulation and a significant UK presence as they seek to expand internationally. A London office / FCA license brings with it not just the ability to directly engage with UK and European clients, but also adds a layer of credibility when attracting high net worth clients from around the world.
Other recent FCA licensees we’ve reported on include Cyprus-based Exness, Blackwell Global and Capital Index. We’ve also noted some new FCA licensed startups such as TempleFX and BlackPearlFX.
The crowded FCA licensed market looks like it will become even more competitive in the coming months.