First Derivatives shares trade in Dublin

Newry-based software company First Derivatives, which began trading yesterday on the IEX market in Dublin, is looking at establishing an operation in the Republic.

The company, which provides software and consulting services to financial groups in London and New York, is looking at establishing a base here, possibly in research and development.

"We would have aspirations to open here [the Republic] in the next 12 to 18 months," chief executive Brian Conlon told The Irish Times.

Mr Conlon said 30 per cent of the company's 100 employees in Newry already hail from south of the Border.

"We're planning to grow our numbers aggressively over the next couple of years as we expand our business," he said.

First Derivatives shares began trading yesterday at €4.70 and closed the day's trading unchanged.

The company was founded by Mr Conlon in 1996 and listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London in 2002. It has a market value in Dublin of €61 million.

Mr Conlon said the decision to list on the IEX was driven by plans to raise funds from capital markets over the next 12 to 18 months and the company's needs to fund possible acquisitions.

"We're one of a small number of companies listed on IEX as opposed to one of a number of thousand on AIM," he said.

"We may tap the capital markets in the future.

"Dublin is awash with cash and if people are looking to diversify out of property then this might be a chance for them to do that."

Mr Conlon owns 70 per cent of the shares while the company has a free float of 16 per cent.

He said the company intends to increase its free float of shares over the coming years. An accountant by training, Mr Conlon previously worked for KPMG and also spent four years with Morgan Stanley in its fixed income trading and risk management division.

He also worked as a financial engineer with a Nasdaq-quoted software company called Sunguard.

First Derivatives' customers include major banks, hedge funds and large financial institutions, including JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch.