Liquidity and data solutions provider TP ICAP (LON: TCAP) has announced a minority stake acquisition in UK-based FinTech company ipushpull. This strategic investment aims to accelerate TP ICAP's transformation of its core Global Broking business through technology.
TP ICAP Expands ipushpull's Team
The Series A funding will be utilized to expand ipushpull's team, improve platform connectivity, workflow automation capabilities and increase its live data sharing. TP ICAP's decision comes in response to growing client demands for chat-based connectivity, semi-automated workflows and custom APIs. As a result of this investment, TP ICAP's Group CIO, Dan Wray will join the ipushpull Board of Directors.
TP ICAP has already incorporated ipushpull's omni-channel delivery into its Fusion technology offering, which has received industry recognition. The fully integrated ipushpull platform enables clients to establish custom connectivity with chat applications like Slack and Teams and tailored Excel-based integrations and client API.
"ipushpull is a flexible, scalable solution that sits alongside Fusion's existing FIX and STP solutions," Wray said: "This enables us to meet our clients' needs for speed and greater automation. Our investment reflects both the confidence we have in our partnership with ipushpull and the progress we're making in executing our strategy to transform our business through technology."
The ipushpull functionality has been implemented in TP ICAP's Options and Equities divisions, connecting brokers to clients through various workflows. Throughout 2023, TP ICAP aims to extend ipushpull's usage to hundreds of clients, including multiple asset classes.
In addition, Matthew Cheung, the CEO of ipushpull, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership and stated that his company's no-code platform would help increase client engagement and expedite the delivery of live data and workflow into clients' applications of choice.
TP ICAP Reports Strong 2022 Numbers
In March, TP ICAP released its 2022 annual financial report, showcasing an increase of 13.5 percent (7 percent in constant currency) in revenue, amounting to over £2.1 billion. The company ended the year with a pre-tax profit of £113 million, which is a significant improvement from the £24 million recorded in the previous year, surpassing analysts' projections of £108 million.
In the reported results, TP ICAP registered basic earnings per share (EPS) of 13.2 pence, up from 0.7 pence in 2021. The adjusted basic EPS reached 24.9 pence, compared to 19.5 pence in the prior year.
As a diversified organization, TP ICAP benefits from multiple sources of revenue. Its global broking revenue experienced an increase of 13 percent on a reported basis and 7 percent in constant currency, totaling £1.25 billion. FX and money market products contributed £302 million to this figure.
Push into Blockchain and Crypto World
Meanwhile, TP ICAP's Fusion Digital Assets, a wholesale exchange for cryptocurrency assets, has registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), enabling the platform to operate within the United Kingdom. Though initially announced in December and confirmed in mid-2021, TP ICAP has not yet launched its crypto exchange services. The platform will exclusively serve institutional market participants and will be managed by Tullett Prebon (Europe) Limited.
In February, TP ICAP partnered with the Web3 service provider, Chainlink Labs to offer institutional-grade forex pricing data to the blockchain ecosystem. Both companies announced that TP ICAP has joined the Chainlink Network in a joint statement.
In an update in April, Liquidnet, a company acquired by TP ICAP in 2021, introduced liquidity-seeking alerts to its equities trading application. These alerts are designed to help traders swiftly take advantage of liquidity events triggered by dark blocks and reconnect with missed trading opportunities within the Liquidnet network.
