London Stock Exchange Group Stock

London Stock Exchange plc provides issuer, broker, and information services. It has approximately 400 companies from approximately 55 countries admitted to trading on its markets. The company provides the markets and means of raising capital for the U.K. and international companies through equity, debt and depositary receipt issues. It gives investors of all types the opportunity to buy and sell shares in the companies of their choice. The company operates in four main business areas that include Issuer Services, Broker Services, Information Services and Derivatives Services.

Issuer Services

Through its issuer services area, the company provides a range of markets and services to support the United Kingdom and overseas companies wishing to raise capital and have their securities traded; and develops new markets and services to meet the needs of issuers. Issuer Services works with customers before, during and after listing, offering a service that gives companies access to one of the world’s deepest and most liquid pools of investment capital. The Main Market and AIM are its international market for smaller and growing companies. As of March 31, 2004, there were 2,693 companies listed on its markets. There were 1,901 companies listed on the Main Market and 792 companies quoted on AIM. Of these 439 are international companies from 58 countries.

Broker services

Broker Services provides the electronic platforms through, which 303 Member Firms, in 13 countries, trade approximately 15,000 securities on the London Stock Exchange. It develops the company’s trading markets and related products to a range of customers —from the investment bank to the private investor. The company offers Volume on SETS, its electronic order book.

SETS is its electronic order book for trading the most liquid U.K. securities. SETSmm is its platform for trading mid-cap securities. It is in the hybrid market, an electronic order book supported by continuous liquidity provision from committed market-makers. EUROSETS is its trading service for Dutch equities. EUROSETS would offer all the efficiency and transparency that the Exchange is known for, along with a service offering designed to reduce customers’ dealing costs.

Information Services

Information Services provides market information, trading and data services to approximately 90,000 direct users in 109 countries around the world. Its products, traditionally based around the information generated and recorded by the London Stock Exchange, include real-time market data and historic trade information services. Such data is a valuable commodity for financial professionals, including brokers and fund managers and the middle and back offices that support them. Private investors also use its services. The SEDOL Masterfile service for listed securities would save the industry millions of pounds and looks set to become the global standard for instrument and trade identification.

Derivatives Services

Derivatives Services manages the Exchange’s expanding derivatives business. The company’s derivatives products include those offered by EDX London that it acquired from OM AB in June 2003 and Covered Warrants for retail investors.

EDX London offers trading in futures and options listed on three linked exchanges – in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. There are approximately 58 member firms trading approximately 100 listed futures and options contracts.