XCAP Securities plc

About XCAP Securities plc 

Launching at the end of June 2010, XCAP Securities plc is a brand new independent investment banking and stockbroking operation focussing on the small to mid-cap market and quoted corporate clients. XCAP operations include active participation as market makers, retail and institutional brokers, fund management as well as traditional corporate finance advisory activities.  As well as its core London-quoted client base, XCAP will also provide broking services to companies whose securities are traded on other recognised investment exchanges.

The Business Challenge 

From the outset, XCAP Securities needed access to CREST - the real-time settlement system for UK, Irish and International securities and government bonds.

The Synergy Solution 

Synergy Financial Systems offered XCAP the ability to access CREST via a hosted connectivity solution through the CREST SWIFT service. By opting for the Synergy hosted solution, XCAP Securities are able to access the benefits of the CREST SWIFT service without the cost, overhead or complexity of implementing an in-house infrastructure solution. The CREST SWIFT service provides XCAP Securities with a single interface to a wide-range of UK and European securities and counterparties.

The Outcome 

Commenting on the Synergy solution, XCAP’s Finance Director, Mike Frame said: “As a new operation with ambitious growth plans, we were keen to select an outsourced hosting partner for our CREST Settlements connectivity who could offer us a reliable, resilient and flexible service capable of adapting as our business changes. As is inevitable with new operations, controlling capital and operational cost was an important part of the initial decision making process. Synergy have delivered on all counts by providing us with a cost-effective and reliable SWIFT service which we depend on for 700 trades per day – and growing quickly.” Mr Frame went on to add: “The implementation ran smoothly and the Synergy team have provided excellent support throughout. As we continue our growth phase, it is comforting to know that we do not need to divert resources to the support of a complex in-house SWIFT infrastructure.”