OvalX (ETX Capital) has agreed to sell its client base to rivals Capital.com
OvalX the margin trading, CFD and Spread Betting broker, formerly known as ETX, has agreed to sell its clients to rivals Capital.com, where ex-IG CEO Peter Hetherington recently took over the reins.
No financial details about the sale have been disclosed and it’s not clear if any OvalX staff will be joining Capital.com alongside their former customers.
Ironically, ETX Capital took over the client base of previously collapsed broker Alpari.
A change of name and ownership
ETX Capital changed its name to OvalX under the ownership of Guru Capital. A Swiss private equity business run by two former Swiss quote executives.
Guru Capital bought the defunct Italian financial app Oval Money and merged that business with ETX, rebranding the company as it did so.
At the time independent observers questioned the logic of retiring the well-known and fondly regarded ETX brand.
A complicated arrangement
However, it now seems that Guru Capital was in fact only managing the merged businesses, as part of an arrangement with the US venture cap investor Jump Capital. Who ultimately took control of OvalX’s parent company Monecor.
Under the arrangement Jump Capital partner Saurabh Sharma joined the Monecor board, whilst Guri Capital executives Ryan Nettles and Luca Morella were said to have been offered an equity stake in what was ETX, subject to certain performance targets being achieved.
However, performance under the new management was disappointing with the business reporting a £9.2 million loss for the financial year 2021, with trading revenue down by almost -25%.
Jump Capital now appears to have withdrawn its financial support for Monecor, which forced OvalX to consider its strategic options.
The firm was said to be making redundancies in recent weeks.
More hires from IG
Capital.com has also continued to strengthen it’s ranks of market veterans and has recently appointed Niamh Byrne (formally Head of B2B2 & Institutional Sales at IG Prime) as Head of UK and Ireland.
The end for a niche player
ETX had enjoyed a niche position in a competitive marketplace and was notable for its high-touch equity desk, which provided active and high net-worth clients with a personal trading service. The firm had been through a number of owners prior to the takeover by Jump Capital and their agents.
It began life as Tradindex having been set in 2002 by interdealer broker Tradition, who sold out of the business in 2007. The sale of the former ETX client base seems likely to be part of the final chapter in the story.
The OvalX website does not appear to contain any details of the proposed sale of its client base to Capital.com. Nor is it clear if the company have written to those customers yet to inform them of the impending change.
Overall it’s a rather sad and low-key end for business that was a familiar part of the London CFD trading and Spread Betting markets.
With over 35 years of finance experience, Darren is a highly respected and knowledgeable industry expert. With an extensive career covering trading, sales, analytics and research, he has a vast knowledge covering every aspect of the financial markets.
During his career, Darren has acted for and advised major hedge funds and investment banks such as GLG, Thames River, Ruby Capital and CQS, Dresdner Kleinwort and HSBC.
In addition to the financial analysis and commentary he provides as an editor at GoodMoneyGuide.com, his work has been featured in publications including Fool.co.uk.
As well as extensive experience of writing financial commentary, he previously worked as a Market Research & Client Relationships Manager at Admiral Markets UK Ltd, before providing expert insights as a market analyst at Pepperstone.
Darren is an expert in areas like currency, CFDs, equities and derivatives and has authored over 260 guides on GoodMoneyGuide.com.
He has an aptitude for explaining trading concepts in a way that newcomers can understand, such as this guide to day trading Forex at Pepperstone.com
Darren has done interviews and analysis for companies like Queso, including an interview on technical trading levels.
A well known authority in the industry, he has provided interviews on Bloomberg (UK), CNBC (UK) Reuters (UK), Tiptv (UK), BNN (Canada) and Asharq Bloomberg Arabia.
You can contact Darren at darrensinden@goodmoneyguide.com
