Euronext reveals ambitious 2017 expansion plans as revenues slip in 2016

Block-trading venue, collateral management service and webcasting technology among initiatives announced by Euronext today.

Euronext has made a spate of announcements alongside its 2016 full-year results today, including news it will launch a pan-European block trading venue and has acquired a web-casting company.

As part of its annual results statement this morning, the pan-European exchange operator unveiled a number of new initiatives. The firm reported a small fall in revenues last year, down 4.3% to €496.4 million compared to 2015.

Euronext announced that is has partnered with AX Trading to launch a pan-European multilateral trading facility (MTF) for block trading, following similar moves by other European exchange operators including Turquoise.

The service will be based on AX Trading’s technology platform and offer large-in-scale trading for European equities and is due to launch in mid-2017.

Lee Hodgkinson, head of markets and global sales at Euronext, said: “The new block trading service will….complement our core lit market with a sophisticated yet simple way to execute large orders on a truly pan-European platform, minimizing information leakage and market impact.”

Euronext also confirmed it is launching a collateral and liquidity risk management service called Euronext Chequers, which will see a staged implementation throughout 2017.

The service will begin on-boarding participants in March, using electronic storage certificates to enhance the settlement and physical delivery of Euronext futures contracts

Additional phases, scheduled from Q2 2017 onwards, will include an electronic asset financing platform pairing liquidity providers with liquidity takers with the aim of delivering a direct connection between inventory management and the trading platform.

Future phases are also set to include greater risk analytics and additional collateral management functionality.

Lastly, the firm confirmed it has acquired a stake in Company Webcast for €3.6 million. The acquisition of the webcasting specialist, which operates a webcast and webinar technology platform, is intended to bolster Euronext’s corporate services offering, which aims to help issuers make the most of capital markets.

Stéphane Boujnahm, chairman and CEO of Euronext, said: “The acquisition of Company Webcast will enable our more than 1,300 issuers to engage more closely with their stakeholders and broaden their communication reach. This investment once again demonstrates our disciplined M&A approach as we accelerate the deployment of our “Agility for Growth” strategic plan.

“Company Webcast’s strong value proposition, the entrepreneurial spirit of the management team and its scalable business offer the best conditions to further roll out its offering in the Euronext markets and beyond.”

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