Ex-Numis boss Oliver Hemsley’s bid to take over Nex Exchange falls through

Plans by former Numis chief executive Oliver Hemsley to take control of London-based Nex Exchange have fallen through, its owner said today.

A group of investors led by Hemsley had sought to take control of 55 per cent of Nex, an exchange for smaller listings which seeks to challenge the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim), but this is no longer the case.

The investment was set to be completed by the second half of the financial year, and would have seen Hemsley replace current chief executive Patrick Birley.

CME Group, the American financial market company which has owned Nex since November 2018, said in a statement: “CME Group can confirm that the previously announced transaction for a number of external investors to invest new funds in Nex Exchange will not now complete.”

The original plan would have injected £10.5m into the challenger exchange, in a bid to increase its reach and challenge AIM. It valued the exchange at £20m.

In February 2019, however, the exchange had 83 companies listed on it, compared to more than 900 on AIM.

In its statement, CME said Nex “remains a CME Group business”.

“CME continues to support Nex Exchange and will be evaluating its strategic options moving forward”, it added.