Abshire-Smith Global Ltd, a foreign exchange (forex) and contracts for difference (CFD) broker in the United Kingdom is closing down its business in the region.

The move was first revealed in a regulatory filing with the UK’s Companies House. Speaking to Finance Magnates the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of Abshire-Smith, Adam Neal, confirmed that the broker is winding down its operations within the UK.

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Commenting on the changes, Neal said to Finance Magnates: “We’ve been working on restructuring the business for over 12 months inclusive of how we deal with UK, European and global clients following the change in UK and European regulations. No customers are effected [sic] by this change.”

Brexit and ESMA cause Abshire-Smith to look elsewhere

The closing of some of its operations is the result of the complex landscape the United Kingdom currently finds itself in due to Brexit and regulations from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

Abshire-Smith is not alone in this, with numerous brokers and financial institutions reevaluating their operations in the UK and European Union as a result of the regulatory changes in 2018, with more likely to come this year.

In light of Brexit, the top three banks in France – BNP Paribas SA, Credit Agricole SA, and Societe Generale SA are together preparing to move around 500 positions from London, as Finance Magnates reported. The majority of these will be moved to Paris.

Abshire Smith is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and based in the middle of London. In addition to forex, CFD and equities trading, the broker also offers swap-free (Shariah compliant) trading accounts to active traders.

Since 2011, the broker has been issued three notices for compulsory strike-off, where the Registrar of Companies has warned that “unless cause is shown to the contrary” the company will be “struck off the register and the company will be dissolved.”