ICAP Becomes NEX Group In Spencer Move

The former Conservative Party treasurer Michael Spencer will announce on Monday that ICAP (LSE: IAP.L - news) , the interdealer broking group he founded 30 years ago, is to be renamed NEX Group.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Spencer, one of the City's most prominent entrepreneurs, will unveil the new identity alongside his company's full-year results.

The name NEX is understood to be intended to signify Mr Spencer's intention to participate in and lead a new generation of financial infrastructure services for global clients as rapid technology changes offer scope for markets to operate more efficiently.

ICAP's business does not have a significant public awareness but plays an important role in global markets.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) centres on matching buyers and sellers in the wholesale financial markets including interest rates, credit, commodities, foreign exchange, emerging markets and equity derivatives through both voice and electronic networks.

Regulatory reforms introduced in the aftermath of the 2008 banking crisis, such as demands for a new level of transparency from banks in relation to their vast holdings of derivatives, have paved the way for a shake-up in the provision of post-trade clearing services and other areas of financial markets.

Sources said the change of name would help to position the company led by Mr Spencer in the vanguard of that overhaul.

The ICAP name will be transferred alongside the company's voice-broking business to a new entity, TP ICAP, created from its £1.1bn takeover by Tullett Prebon (LSE: TLPR.L - news) .

One insider said NEX would focus on its existing assets and selective new investments to compete with rival providers of over-the-counter and post-trade services.

Analysts have likened the new company's activities to those of a major exchange-owner such as the London Stock Exchange Group, which is pursuing a controversial mega-merger with Germany's Deutsche Boerse (LSE: 0H3T.L - news) .

Mr Spencer has already given an indication of the direction he wants to pursue for NEX by acquiring control of ENSO Group, a data analytics firm whose clients include leading hedge funds.

That investment was made by Euclid Opportunities, a division of what will become NEX which focuses on financial technology businesses which have strong potential.

Mr Spencer, well-known for his love of fine red wine, offered a crate of claret to anyone suggesting a new name for ICAP that was subsequently adopted by the company.

The invitation, made during a live television interview, drew scores of suggestions, but NEX is understood not to have been among them.

The name-change will take effect once ICAP's voice-broking deal with Tullett Prebon completes later this year.

Mr Spencer has previously described the decision to part with the ICAP name as "a huge change in my life".

Its darkest moment came in 2013 when ICAP was fined £55m by regulators over the role of three employees in the global Libor rate-rigging scandal.