FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned via regulatory filings that FCA regulated CFDs and spread betting broker Livemarkets Limited has posted a loss of £255,545 for 2020, its first full year of operations.

Livemarkets Limited provides investment services for Contracts for Difference (“CFDs”) and Spread bets, executing clients’ orders on a matched principal basis (no portfolio management or investment advice services). The Company is acting as a provider of regulated products and services under its registered trade name TRADE.com and websites trade.com and livemarkets.com.

The revenue of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2020 was £112,213 (2019: £273). The net loss of the Company for the year was £255,545 (2019 Net loss: £154,219). As at 31 December 2020 the total assets of the Company were £698,597 (2019: £622.559) and its net assets were £287,759 (2019: £185,672).

Livemarkets held £728,955 of client funds as of December 31, 2020.

2020 was the first year of the Company’s operations following the authorisation granted by FCA for Variation of its Permission (“VoP”) to hold clients’ funds and act as a matched principal broker under an IFPRU the 125K license; hence comparative figures and performance benchmarks will become available in subsequent years. The Company was incorporated on 4 September 2014 and received its FCA license on 17 January 2017.

The Company proceeded with an application for Variation of Permission (‘VoP”) in February 2019, in order to become an IFPRU the 125k Limited Licence Firm, seeking to ‘extend its permission for the purpose of: (c) Dealing in investments as agent, (d) Dealing in investments as principal (with a Matched Principle Limitation), (e) Arranging safeguarding and administration of assets, (f) Safeguarding and Administration of Assets for holding and controlling client money.

The Company was granted FCA approval for VoP at the end of September 2019, until which time it did not onboard any clients or provide any of the services outlined in (c) through (f) above, therefore it engaged in extremely limited, activities introducing clients to other EU regulated entities.

The Company effectively launched its operations based on its extended permission in mid-October 2019, which is the main reason for incurring a substantially lower amount of revenues throughout 2019 compared to the revenues generated during 2020.

The Company successfully completed a full year of operation since the FCA approval of the Variation of its Permission and is now in the process of exploring alternative revenue streams. In the fourth quarter of 2020 it was granted FCA authorization for onboarding Appointed Representatives.

Livemarkets brought on board seasoned FX executive Salim Sebbata in mid 2020 to head business development for both the Livemarkets and Trade.com brands; however Mr. Sebbata left earlier this year, as was exclusively reported by FNG, to become CEO of UK operations at neobroker BUX.