Alpari’s Hobbled U.K. Unit Unable to Find Buyer After Franc Rout
(Bloomberg) — Alpari (UK) Ltd., a foreign-exchange broker that sought a rescue plan after it was buffeted by last week’s Swiss franc rout, has gone into administration after it failed to find a company willing to buy it out.
The franc surged as much as 41 percent versus the euro on Thursday, the biggest gain on record, and climbed more than 15 percent against all of the more than 150 currencies tracked by Bloomberg, after the Swiss National Bank removed its trading cap against the euro. The volatility left many of Alpari (UK)’s clients sustaining losses on their trades, according to an e- mailed statement from KPMG LLP, which has been appointed as administrator.
The London-based U.K. unit said on Jan. 16 it had entered insolvency before retracting the statement on its website and saying it was seeking buyers. That search was “ultimately unsuccessful,” KPMG said.
The company, which employs 170 staff in London, holds $98.5 million of client money in segregated accounts, KPMG said.
Alpari is not the only retail currency broker to suffer in the wake of the SNB decision.
FXCM Inc. received a $300 million cash infusion from Leucadia National Corp. after it warned that customer losses due to the franc’s rapid appreciation threatened its compliance with capital rules.
IG Group Holdings Plc estimated the market rout would cost it as much as 30 million pounds ($45.4 million) and Swissquote Group Holdings SA set aside 25 million francs ($28.5 million). CMC Markets Plc, FxPro Group Ltd. and OANDA also said they suffered losses on franc trades.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Dobson at pdobson2@bloomberg.net Mark McCord
