CMC chief Cruddas poised to cash in on post-Brexit chaos

(Recasts with comments from interview with CEO)

By Patrick Graham and Noor Zainab Hussain

LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - Peter Cruddas, one of the City of London's most prominent Brexiteers, has much to gain from the imminent vote on Britain's membership of the European Union, no matter the outcome.

While other UK companies are fretting about the impact of the referendum on their business, Cruddas is one of those who could cash in the more turmoil the vote generates.

"From a business point of view we are not concerned about it (the referendum) at all," he said. "We think from a volatility point of view it will generate more business for us."

His spreadbetting firm, CMC Markets (LSE: CMCX.L - news) , went public this year almost three decades after Cruddas launched it with a 10,000 pound investment. CMC (BSE: CMC.BO - news) lodged profits on Wednesday of 53.4 million pounds ($78 million) for the full year to March.

Cruddas said he was optimistic, after a sluggish couple of months, of a boost this month to the volatility the company thrives on as one of the biggest of a new generation of online financial gambling portals.

That would come less than a year after Cruddas, a former Treasurer of Britain's ruling Conservative Party donated 1 million pounds to the Leave campaign being led by former London Mayor Boris Johnson and other senior Conservatives.

"I'm not involved with the campaign. I'm working full time in CMC. I've helped them raise money and I definitely don't regret it. I think we'll win, I think we'll Brexit."

Cruddas said the bulk of his London-based workers would be at their desks through the night after the polls close on June 23.

Cruddas and Chief Financial Officer Grant Foley, scarred by lessons from a surge in the Swiss franc last year which left the company in conflict with clients, said they would have up to 40 additional workers in the office compared to normal staffing.

They said that the company, which listed on the London stock market in February with a valuation of 691 million pounds ($1 billion), was on track to achieve its target of 220 million pounds net operating income in the year ended March 2020.

Its rivals include IG Group Plc, Denmark's Saxo Bank and FXCM Inc (NYSE: FXCM - news) .

CMC said active client numbers grew 14 percent to 57,329 in the year, while revenue per active client rose 4 percent to 2,828 pounds. The value of client trades rose 445 billion pounds to 2,071 billion pounds.

CMC, whose stock has risen 15 percent since its debut, said it would pay a final dividend of 5.36 pence per share, up from the 3.57 pence it paid last year.

($1 = 0.6881 pounds) (Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)