(Alliance News) - Peel Hunt Ltd on Thursday said it would be relaunching its retail access technology platform, REX, in order to establish it as a standalone business independent of the firm.
REX, which is currently run by the London-based investment banking firm, is a platform which enables retail investors to participate in capital markets transactions such as IPOs and follow-on share offerings through intermediaries and investment platforms.
In October, Peel Hunt said it was actively engaged in establishing REX as a standalone business. It emphasised that independence was a "prerequisite" to REX asserting itself as the leading industry platform.
The firm has now established a new legal entity named RetailBook which, subject to receipt of its own regulatory permissions, will own and operate a deal platform based on REX technology. RetailBook will have its own separate headquarters and be staffed independently of Peel Hunt.
Peel Hunt has also entered strategic agreements in relation to REX/RetailBook, with Hargreaves Lansdown, Jefferies, Numis and Rothschild & Co. Under the respective agreements, Hargreaves Lansdown has granted REX a period of exclusivity until 30 June 2023, whereas Jefferies, Numis and Rothschild & Co have agreed to collaborate with and promote REX and/or RetailBook.
In exchange, Peel Hunt envisaged that each of Hargreaves Lansdown, Jefferies, Numis and Rothschild & Co will become shareholders in RetailBook.
Peel Hunt shares closed 4.7% higher at 112.00 pence each in London on Thursday.
By Holly Beveridge; Alliance News reporter
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