Robinhood, the popular American stock trading app, has onboarded Jordan Sinclair, the former Managing Director of Europe at Freetrade, as its new UK Chief Executive Officer. It is also planning to launch its services in the UK by year-end. The appointment comes days after Finance Magnates reported that the ‘zero-fee’ trading pioneer was hiring for several UK roles.

Robinhood Revives Push for UK Debut

The UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) register shows that Sinclair, who is also a former Barclays executive, was appointed as the trading firm’s Chief Executive earlier this month. Sinclair brings over a decade of experience to the pinnacle position.

This marks Robinhood’s latest effort to gain entry into the UK trading market after having first announced its plan about three years ago. In early 2022, the stock trading and investment firm made a deal to acquire Ziglu, a London-based cryptocurrency trading platform. The firm had hoped that the acquisition would help it accelerate its international expansion, both in the UK and across Europe.

However, in February, Robinhood terminated the agreement after it failed to reduce the price of the acquisition by 57% from $170 million to $72.5 million. The trading provider had cited market conditions for the measure.

Meanwhile, Robinhood’s renewed plan to enter the UK market is timed as some US trading platforms, such as Public.com and Webull, recently launched in the country. However, the decline in retail trading activities among investors is currently a source of concern for the company.

In June, Robinhood initiated its third round of layoffs within a year. Finance Magnates reported that the trading provider had disclosed its plans to lay off 7% of its workforce (approximately 150 people) in an internal memo. The action occurred as the broker-dealer had reported $511 million in net losses during the first quarter of the year, surpassing its quarterly revenue of $441 million.

On a positive note, earlier this month, Robinhood introduced 24-hour market trading for all its users. Finance Magnates reported that the move might be targeted at improving trading activities among its retail investors.

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