iFOREX
Financial Trading Holdings Ltd. has priced its initial public offering (IPO) on the
London Stock Exchange at 195 pence per share, setting the company’s market
capitalization at roughly £43.3 million. Trading under the ticker IFRX is
expected to begin on February 25.
The IPO
caps a drawn-out path to the public markets. iFOREX had originally
planned to list in late June 2025 before pulling the plug on those plans, citing a routine
compliance inspection in the British Virgin Islands that needed more time to
complete. The company only confirmed
the process had restarted two days ago, describing it as being at an “advanced
stage.”
iForex Placing
Draws Oversubscribed Demand
The
offering consists entirely of 4,487,179 new ordinary shares, with no existing
shareholders selling down their stakes. At 195p, the raise totals £8.75 million, around 20.2 percent of the company’s share capital following admission. The
placing was oversubscribed, according to the company, suggesting demand from
institutional investors exceeded the available allocation.
Getting
here has been anything but straightforward, and the broader IPO environment for
financial firms has not made things easier. Just last week, prime broker Clear
Street pulled its own
listing after a 40% valuation cut, spooked by software sector selloffs and crypto market volatility.
Shore
Capital and Corporate Limited is acting as sponsor, while Shore Capital
Stockbrokers Limited is serving as sole bookrunner for the listing. Both are
regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Founder
Keeps a Firm Grip
Eyal
Carmon, iFOREX’s founder, is not selling shares in this offering and will
remain the majority shareholder after listing. He has entered into a
relationship agreement that takes effect on admission and will continue
advising the business through a consultancy arrangement with Recap Ltd., a
company he wholly owns. The directors, proposed directors, and certain senior
employees holding shares through an employee ownership trust have agreed to a
12-month lock-up, followed by a subsequent 12-month orderly market period.
“Today marks a pivotal
moment in iFOREX’s evolution as we prepare to list on the Main Market of the
London Stock Exchange,” CEO Itai
Sadeh framed the listing as a platform for growth. “The oversubscribed placing reflects
investor confidence in our strategy, solid fundamentals and scalable operating
model.”
If the
listing goes ahead as planned, iFOREX would join a short list of publicly
traded online brokers, a list that has barely
changed since 2016,
despite years of speculation about which firm might go next.
Since then,
only
eToro has joined the list, last year, but FX and CFD brokers have
historically avoided public markets, citing regulatory complexity, earnings
volatility, and the difficulty of explaining their business models to
generalist investors. iFOREX is betting that a London listing changes that
calculus, at least for itself.
Revenue
Picture Warrants Scrutiny
The IPO
arrives at a time when iFOREX’s financials have been under pressure. An earlier FinanceMagnates.com analysis showed
the broker lost around 20% of its clients and saw profits drop by 75% over two
years ahead of the original listing attempt. For the year ended December 31,
2024, the company reported
trading income of $50.1 million and adjusted pre-tax profits of $7.6 million, while net profit fell 31% to just
above $5 million.
A heavy
dependence on Japan and India, which together generate more than half of
iFOREX’s revenue, is one of the key structural questions hanging over the
stock. The company has said part of the rationale for going public is to fund
expansion into new markets and reduce that geographic concentration.
Despite
carrying the “forex” name, currency pairs now account for just 37% of
client transactions – a sign the business has shifted but perhaps not yet
diversified enough for public market investors.
LSE Main
Market
Listing on
the Main Market, rather than the smaller AIM segment, subjects iFOREX to the
full weight of FCA oversight and UK premium listing standards, which could help
with institutional credibility but also increase disclosure obligations and
compliance costs. The company is also in the process of obtaining a UK
financial services license.
The
prospectus, now approved by the FCA, is available on the National Storage
Mechanism and the company’s investor relations page. Potential investors are
advised to rely solely on that document, including its risk factors, before
making any investment decision. The company notes that the offering is directed
only at qualified investors in the UK and EEA, and is not available to
investors in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, or Japan.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
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