Equiduct, the MiFID-ready pan-European trading platform headed by Bob Fuller, has completed a first round of funding and named LCH.Clearnet's Willy Van Stappen as chief operating officer as it gears up to launch market data services later this year.
The company's first funding round - details of which were not disclosed - included investments from Belgium's Bams Angels Fund and a group of London-based industry professionals.
Jos Peeters, chairman of Equiduct, says the funds will be used to expand the firm's technology team and prepare for the launch of market data services in Q3 2007 and trading services in Q1 2008.
Peeters says a second round of funding is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2007.
Van Stappen joins from LCH.Clearnet where he held a number of roles including programme director for equities integration and equities harmonisation. He was also member and chairman (2001) of the European Association of Central Counterparty Clearing Houses and COO of Belfox (1990-2000), the Belgian futures and options exchange.
Equiduct has also expanded its board of directors with the addition of Rob Kuijpers, previously executive chairman of SN Brussels Airlines and CEO of DHL Worldwide Express and Patrick de Bellefroid, who was previously chairman of Belgian private bank Puilaetco.
The Equiduct venture was launched last year and is led by Fuller, who was previously director of IT strategy at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and co-head of the MiFID Joint Working Group.
The system, which is based on an upgraded version of the Easdaq exchange technology platform, will provide users with a MiFID-compliant, integrated Europe-wide single connection for trading services and execution.