Aquis Exchange

Aquis Exchange is a listed operating company, not an asset manager. Investment and strategic decisions are made by the board of directors, led by CEO and founder Alasdair Haynes. Since the firm is publicly traded on AIM, material corporate decisions involving capital allocation are disclosed via the London Stock Exchange's regulatory news service.

Aquis Markets charges members a flat subscription fee for trading rather than a per-trade cost. The pricing tiers are based on the member's daily trading volume, creating a fixed-cost structure for institutional participants. This model is designed to lower overall trading costs for high-volume firms and to compete with Europe's incumbent exchanges that derive significant revenue from transaction fees.

Aquis functions as both. The group operates two regulated UK exchanges and a pan-European multilateral trading facility through its Aquis Markets and Aquis Stock Exchange divisions. Simultaneously, its Aquis Technologies unit licenses the matching engine, surveillance software, and exchange infrastructure to other market operators, including the Central Bank of Colombia. This dual model separates exchange operations from technology sales.

In September 2024, SIX Group, the operator of the Swiss Stock Exchange, made a recommended cash offer for the entire issued share capital of Aquis Exchange at 727 pence per share. The takeover, if completed, would integrate Aquis into one of Europe's largest financial market infrastructure groups. The transaction values Aquis at approximately £225 million (per the firm's regulatory announcement, September 2024).

No. Aquis deliberately avoids operating its own clearing house. The group relies on external central counterparty clearing houses for trade settlement, keeping its balance sheet capital-light and avoiding the regulatory capital requirements associated with clearing infrastructure. This is a deliberate structural choice that distinguishes it from larger vertically integrated exchange groups.