FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned via regulatory filings that London based Retail FX and CFDs broker Fortrade has reported record annual Revenues of £26.7 million in 2020, reversing a 2019 Revenue decline as market conditions turned vert favorable to online brokers at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fortrade had reported a 12% decline in Revenue during 2019, after the FCA and European regulators cut leverage levels that brokers could afford clients on CFD trades.
The London based, FCA regulated Fortrade did not see much of a monetary increase in profits, however, which totaled £996K versus £147K in 2019, as expenses kept pace with the Revenue increase.
Fortrade was established in 2013, and received its FCA license the following year. Initially the company grew fairly rapidly, from £2.1 million in revenue in 2014 to £5.5 million for 2015 and £15.9 million in 2016, but its growth had stalled ever since – until 2020. The company installed a new CEO in mid-2020, former LMAX and CitiFX executive Chris Warburton.
In addition to the UK company, the Fortrade group operates licensed subsidiaries in Belarus, Australia, and Canada. The company has a back office operation in Israel, Fort Securities Israel Ltd. Fortrade also set up a subsidiary in Cyprus in 2019, Fortress Cyprus Ltd, and received a CySEC license in mid 2020 as part of its plan to prepare for Brexit and be able to serve EU clients with the end of EU-UK license passporting in 2021.
Fortrade is controlled by Liechtenstein based investment firm Audina Treuhand AG.