Smarkets revenues up triple digits as trading volumes soar

Exchange operator sees £2.6bn traded on its proprietary platform in 2016

13/07/2017

Smarkets has posted a 144% year-on-year jump in revenues for 2016 thanks to record volumes traded on its exchange platform.

Full year revenues hit £25.4m, with business profit of £13.7m, itself a 160% jump over 2015.

More than £2.6bn was traded on the Smarkets exchange in the year, more than was traded in its first five years of existence combined.

CEO Jason Trost said: “Our mission is clear; we are striving to establish ourselves as a top-tier technology company. I strongly believe that the results of the past two years show the positive trajectory of the business, demonstrate our significant growth opportunities and confirm our ability to challenge an industry ripe for disruption.

“We will continue to further develop our product to deliver a unique and fair trading experience by offering superior technology and industry-leading commission rates and will explore moving into new regulated markets to increase our customer base.”

Smarkets also reported close to 200,000 users and a staff headcount of 78.

Towards the end of 2016, the firms also opened its first office in the US to “access engineering talent” and now has locations in London, Los Angeles and Malta, with Trost pledging to “tackle other inefficient verticals”, which EGR understands could include the insurance sector.

Last year Smarkets became the chief sponsor of Queens Park Rangers – a sponsorship it will drop this year – and also launched its debut mobile app.