LSE proves it’s better off without Deutsche

PROFITS at the London Stock Exchange soared 19pc to £915m after a torrid year in which its chief executive stepped down.

The exchange operator has seen off a German merger, lost its chief executive and fought off a battle with a rebel investor in the past 12 months.

It saw revenues jump 17pc to £1.77bn, helped by 17pc growth at its LCH clearing to £432m.

The firm will pay a final dividend of 37.2p per share, amounting to a 19pc increase in the full-year dividend to 51.6p.

Respected boss Xavier Rolet, 58, suddenly stepped down in November following a major spat between the board and activist investor TCI.

Christopher Hohn’s investors accused chairman Donald Brydon of forcing Rolet out, but Brydon survived a shareholder vote on his position while Rolet stepped down sooner than expected after Bank of England governor Mark Carney waded into the row.

Rolet held the LSE’s top job for more than eight years, during which time the LSE’s stock market value soared from £800m to nearly £14bn.

Interim boss David Warren, 62, who is also the firm’s finance chief, said the board was making good progress on recruiting a new chief executive.

Asked if he was interested in the role himself, he said: ‘I remain firmly committed to remaining chief finance officer and nothing has changed in terms of that.’

London is among cities vying to host Saudi-oil giant Aramco’s public listing, the largest ever. Warren said: ‘It’s very much in our interests to do this. There is a lot about London that’s very attractive, a leading global financial centre, it has certainly been a focus and continues to be.’