IG GROUP ACQUIRES ISLE OF MAN SPREADBETTING ASSETS

The news earlier this week that financial spreadbetting has surged, with a 134 percent increase in the number of trades has been followed by reports from the Isle of Man that the UK-based spreadbetting company IG Group has acquired software and domain assets for Bets For Traders.com, owned by the IoM company Trinitas Capital Limited.

According to a UK Wealth Management Industry report produced by research firm ComPeer, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of spread betting accounts opened. The total grew by almost two and a half times from 7 427 at the end of 2007 to 18 012 a year later. At the beginning of 2006 there were fewer than 1 500 accounts.

Trinitas has additionally disposed of its financial betting interests in a sale to fixed odds financial betting group Regent Markets, which also owns Bet On Markets.

In the IG Group deal, the purchasing company apparently intends to revamp the software to enable its use on IG's global platforms, enhancing existing facilities.

Commenting on the sale, Nick Maughan, CEO for Trinitas said: “We are delighted to be selling this software to IG Group and look forward to working with it to ensure that its clients benefit from the latest in real-time pricing and execution on non-standardised products.

“This transaction is part of a broader restructuring as our group companies move away from non-core activity and expand the focus on market-making and financial software service provision.”

IG Group's COO, Peter Hetherington, said: “The team at Trinitas has developed an innovative approach to dealing on financial markets. IG Group is very pleased to be acquiring its software which, with additional development, will allow us to further strengthen our wide range of products.”

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