ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THE LSE?

RUPAK GHOSE CREDIT SUISSE
“The main area of positive surprise was from costs, around £10-20m better than expectations. We continue to believe that LSE is relatively fully valued and have an underperform rating on the stock – but given the better than expected costs we expect the share price to be relatively strong in the near-term.”

JUSTIN URQUHART-STEWART 7 INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
“With Furse going, there is an opportunity for the LSE to develop a new strategy. It needs to create linkages with the areas that are going to see the most growth – and that will not be the West. The direction for the world’s most international stock exchange is to become more international. Go East.”

SIMON DENHAM CAPITAL SPREADS
“The LSE has too much competition – and it is not well priced in comparison. It has been a dinosaur for the past nine years since Furse took over and is paying for it now. But it still has the dominant position, and Rolet coming in – who is more attuned to the components that the markets want.”