BATS’ Hotspot Launches London-Based Matching Engine

The matching engine will leverage the existing Hotspot client base and the  elationships and infrastructure BATS already has in place in Europe, as more than one-third of all equity trades executed in Europe touch the BATS exchange or trade reporting systems every day, according to a release.

"BATS already operates Europe's largest equities exchange and we have similar ambitions for Hotspot in FX," said BATS president Chris Concannon, who will take over as CEO on March 31. "This project is important for our current ─ and future ─ customers as it gives BATS a larger footprint in the leading trading center in the FX world. As home to more than 50 percent of currency trading globally, and growing, the European market is a top priority for the Hotspot team."

BATS completed the acquisition of Hotspot earlier this month from KCG Holdings in a transaction valued at $365 million. Its home matching engine is located in New York. 

According to the company, Hotspot's average daily volume in the fourth quarter 2014 was $31.7 billion, an increase of about 20 percent from the first half of 2014. Its client base consists of more than 220 clients, including banks, market makers, hedge funds and institutions.