Rostro Group has announced that it has agreed to acquire Scope Markets Group, an online forex (FX), equities and contracts-for-difference (CFDs) trading provider, serving a broad range of clients, from retail through to institutional traders. Scope Markets are also the current sleeve sponsor of Premier League football club West Ham United.

The transaction will be an all-cash deal for an undisclosed sum, to be funded through existing cash reserves in Rostro Group. Rostro Group is a fintech company focused on capital markets and digital assets, operating regulated brokerage houses, providing execution, and clearing of both listed securities and OTC derivatives, serving institutional and professional investors.

Rostro Group, founded in 2020 by former ACM/TradeTech executive Roger Hambury to build a multi-service financial services group, has built on the existing licensed operations foundations through the acquisition of Scope Markets to accelerate growth, harness technology synergies and expand reach into both new markets and products.

In 2021 former Equiti Capital COO Michael Ayres joined Rostro, as CEO. The company also hired OANDA Head of UK (and Global Head of Retail Sales) John Murphy, as Global Head of Retail Operations. Another ACM/TradeTech alum, former COO Des Grech, has also joined the group as Global Head of International Business.

Rostro and Scope Markets are highly complementary, with little operational and market overlap, allowing the enlarged group to invest in new products that serve customer needs in the rapidly evolving digital trading environment, across multiple geographies.

Scope Markets operates globally, through its licensed entities in Cyprus, Belize, Kenya, South Africa, and Mauritius, with further extended trading relationships globally.

Roger Hambury, owner and founder of Rostro Group:

“This acquisition is incredibly exciting and helps accelerate our ambition to build a new brand of multi-asset trading and investment firm, which will only be enhanced by the Scope Markets brand. The opportunity presented itself in late 2021, and we jumped at the chance. We see the acquisition of Scope Markets as the first step in a journey to create a global fintech operation, operating in multiple markets, supported by a strong balance sheet. We will continue to explore further bolt-on acquisitions, be it licences, products or services, to further enhance our client offering.”

Jacob Plattner, CEO and a shareholder of Scope Markets Group:

“This is an exciting moment for Scope Markets and its shareholders. Our dedicated workforce has built a fantastic financial services organisation. We have made financial markets accessible globally to clients, who have remained loyal, and we hope will continue to do so as we grow the Scope brand further under Rostro Group.

Today marks the long-term goal of our shareholders to exit the business and realise a significant return on our investment. We are extremely grateful to our experienced and knowledgeable employees, who helped us get to this point. Thanks to them, Scope Markets is well known for its superior product offering and professional service to institutional and retail investors alike. Having known Roger and Michael for a long time, we are equally excited to watch them take the brand, the service and the product offering to the next level. We know our amazing staff and clients will be in great hands going forward. I personally look forward to being part of the next chapter as we build the Scope Markets brand, within Rostro Group.”

Michael Ayres, Group CEO of Rostro Group:

“Scope’s impressive growth journey, along with their global reach, are what attracted us to the deal. We are looking forward to working with their talented employees and expanding the groups range of products and services.”