Cantor money broker float hit by £52m loss

The money broker BGC International made a pre-tax loss of £52.2m in 2005, filings at Companies House reveal.

BGC was spun off into a separate business from the stockbroker Cantor Fitzgerald and is widely expected to pursue a flotation at some point in the future.

However, the filings show that BGC made the loss on turnover of £173.7m compared to a profit of £475,000 on turnover of £199.8m the previous year.

BGC International includes much of the business's non-US operations including the UK. The holding company, BGC Partners, is still structured as a partnership.

A spokesman for the company would only say of the figures: "BGC has expanded rapidly since 2004 and is very excited about its future." The spokesman declinedto comment on "market rumours" concerning a possible flotation.

The figures are understood to have been complicated by an increased tax charge and the costs of integrating acquisitions including the French broker ETC Pollack.

BGC's business was devastated by the September 11 attacks on the US because its offices were in the World Trade Centre.

However, it has since staged a remarkable recovery, more than doubling its number of staff since 2004 and expanding aggressively into Asia. It now operates from 11 offices around the world.

Money brokers provide a facility for banks and other financial institutions to trade a huge range of financial instruments anonymously with each other. It is a business that has expanded hugely in recent years.

BGC's main rivals include Collins Stewart Tullett and Icap, with which it famously fought a bitter court battle when the business was still part of Cantor, featuring a series of lurid allegations.