Groundbreaking electronic trading platform receives £1.6 million investment from Octopus

Octopus has announced an investment of £1.6 million into Vega-Chi Limited, the first electronic trading platform dedicated to European convertible and high-yield bonds.

Vega-Chi enables institutional investors to trade convertible and high-yield bonds directly with each other without having to go through intermediaries. It provides an alternative pool of liquidity where participants can achieve best price execution, transaction cost savings, improved liquidity and anonymity. Furthermore, the Vega-Chi trading system offers full pre-trade and post-trade transparency and access to full historical data, allowing investment managers to make better informed decisions.

Vega-Chi has 65 participant firms and has received orders in excess of $20 billion since its launch in February 2010. The company was founded by its current CEO, Constantinos Antoniades, and its staff and board of directors include a number of industry experts and veterans.

The investment provided by Octopus will enable the company to expand its products and regional footprint in electronic trading for fixed income products.

Jo Oliver, from Octopus, commented: "Vega Chi's platform applies a disruptive technology to a very large, inefficient market. It is run by an exceptional entrepreneur and has the potential to dramatically change the way these securities are traded internationally. The progress made by the company to date is impressive, and we look forward to partnering with the management team to develop a successful and valuable business."

Constantinos Antoniades, Vega-Chi CEO and founder, commented: "We are very excited about the investment by Octopus and working with the Octopus team. The investment brings to Vega-Chi a strong and value-added partner and will allow us to accelerate our growth in new regions and products."

The company is committed to improving the efficiency and transparency in over-the-counter traded financial products as per the recent recommendations by the Commission of European Securities Regulators. The platform is also fully compliant with the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and the proposals described in the MiFID review. Vega-Chi is regulated and authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a multilateral trading facility.

Octopus was advised by Shoosmiths (Legal), Smith & Williamson (VCT Legal), Datapoint Research (Commercial Due Diligence) and Mayfield Consulting (Financial Due Diligence).