London Stock Exchange holds the key

The focus of consolidation of European equity exchanges lies in the triangle of Deutsche Börse, Euronext and the London Stock Exchange. To the impartial, dispassionate observer, there might seem little problem with any tie-up between London and a continental European player. But to those who work and live in the markets, exchanges, like national airlines, are a mark of a country’s honour and something to be fought for.

“There is a lot of hubris about all this, there’s a lot of national prestige,” says Richard Kilsby of securities market consultancy Efficient Frontiers, who while at the LSE helped to establish its Sets trading system.