Worldspreads yet to change name

THE IRISH division of spreadbetting company Worldspreads which was sold to local management last year has not yet changed the name of the company despite this being a condition of the deal.

Under the terms of the sale, the Irish operation was entitled to continue to trade as WorldSpreads for up to five months.

While the sale was announced in August last year, it was approved by shareholders in early September, and approved by the Financial Regulator in early December. Worldspreads PLC officially announced the disposal to the stock exchange on December 22nd.

The profile of Worldspreads Ireland has grown since the buy-out, mainly through corporate advertising in national media outlets.

Under the terms of the sale of the Irish business, London-based Worldspreads PLC is prohibited from operating in the Irish market for two years. It is understood that the company may re-enter the Irish market after this time, though the company declined to comment on this.

In a trading update yesterday, Worldspreads PLC said that the business has continued to trade strongly during the second half of its financial year.

This article said WorldSpreadsIreland, a privately-owned company bought from WorldSpreads PLC on December 22nd, 2010 must cease using the WorldSpreads name within five months of the deal being completed.

The company has asked us to clarify that this period expires on May 22nd next. The article did not intend to infer that WorldSpreads Ireland has broken a condition of sale.

* This article was amended on April 1st, 2010