ActivTrades Returns to Profit in 2024 after Restructuring European Operations

ActivTrades, a London-based forex and contracts for differences (CFDs) broker, closed 2024 with a pre-tax profit of £4.6 million on revenue of £37.6 million. Revenue rose by nearly 38 per cent, reversing a loss of £7.9 million in 2023.

It recorded a profit of £4.1 million after taxes, compared to a £6.7 million loss the year before.

UK Remains the Top Revenue Source

Out of the total revenue, the Group generated £25.8 million from the UK, a 40 per cent increase. The remaining £11.7 million came from overseas.

Beyond its financials, the Group's other key figures were also solid. In 2024, it identified 192,706 new potential clients, of which 13,285 funded their accounts. It ended the year with 28,898 active clients, a 3 per cent rise year on year.

However, total deposits fell to £82.8 million from £103.4 million in the previous year. As withdrawals also dropped, net deposits rose 14 per cent to £25.8 million.

The lower deposits also affected monthly trading volume, which averaged $41.1 billion – down 37 per cent from the prior year.

Shifting Clients from Luxembourg to Portugal

Though headquartered in London, ActivTrades operates globally with subsidiaries in the Bahamas, Portugal, and Brazil. It also had a unit in Luxembourg, which allowed it to serve European clients post-Brexit, but is now being wound down.

The Group has since moved those clients to its Portuguese entity. This shift raised administrative expenses by 9 per cent to £31.5 million. The Portuguese unit, licensed in 2022, began onboarding clients directly in mid-2023. The Group also holds a licence in Italy.

ActivTrades uses its Bahamas subsidiary to target the Latin American and Asian markets. But in early 2024, it began onboarding clients under its Brazil-regulated entity.

It also secured a new licence in Mauritius last year.

“As the customer base has become more spread out across the world and demand has continued to grow, the Group has established entities outside of its headquarters in London,” the latest Companies House filing by the UK unit of ActivTrades stated.

“Historically, the Group has had a high market share in Occidental European countries. In the last few years, the Group has invested more heavily in acquiring clients from within newer markets, in particular Latin America, in order to develop the opportunities in these markets to their full potential.”