Gresham Technologies plc (LSE: “GHT”, “Gresham” or the “Group”), the leading software and services company that specialises in providing real-time transaction control and enterprise data integrity solutions, provides the following trading update for the year ended 31 December 2016 (“FY 2016”).

The Group expects to report revenues for the year up 16% on the prior period to £17.2 million including £0.3 million from C24 Technologies Limited (“C24”) following the acquisition in October 2016, and adjusted EBITDA* up approximately 39% to £3.8 million, in line with market expectations.

Clareti revenues are expected to be up approximately 42% to £7.5 million (36% organic growth, 6% from C24);

Clareti software revenues are expected to be up approximately 40% to £4.7 million (32% organic growth, 8% from C24);

Clareti software recurring revenues are expected to be up approximately 57% to £2.9 million (43% organic growth, 14% from C24); and

The Group’s closing contracted annual run-rate of recurring Clareti revenues is expected to be up approximately 94% to £4.6 million (44% organic growth, 50% from C24).

All other parts of the Group performed in line with expectations.

During FY 2016, the Group signed eleven new Clareti Transaction Control (CTC) clients across various industry segments in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific, and several existing customers extended their use of, and investment in, the technology.

The integration of C24 into the Group has progressed in line with plan and is now substantially complete. Since acquisition, the Group has signed two new Clareti 24 Integration Objects OEM agreements.

The Group closed the year with cash at £7.2 million and remains debt-free. The Group’s working capital inflow closed ahead of expectations, benefitting from strong customer cash collection in the last quarter of the year. The Group’s financial position is expected to remain strong throughout 2017 and beyond.

The Group expects to report results for FY 2016 in the week commencing 13 March 2017.

Ian Manocha, CEO, commented: “The Group made significant progress in 2016. We signed eleven new CTC customers including two cloud subscriptions, and four wins were in the increasingly important US market. New customers were signed in banking, investment management, spread betting and insurance broking where we have existing CTC customers, and we signed our first customer in the commodities industry.

“During the year, we opened our flagship Innovation Labs, completed our first Clareti-led acquisition, established our Clareti Loan Control joint venture business, and developed several new partnerships to drive sales.

“The Group continues to invest in innovation and in building routes to market to further increase our momentum in 2017. We remain focused on our goal to establish a leadership position in the provision of enterprise data integrity solutions, and we remain confident in the prospects of the Group.”

*Earnings Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisation adjusted to add back share-based payment charges and exceptional items.

IHS Markit, a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, today announced the launch of Markit│CTI Tax Solutions for Section 871(m) to address compliance obligations for US equity derivatives. Brown Brothers Harriman and other financial institutions participated in the design phase of the solution and signed on as early adopters.

Section 871(m) issued by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) aims to establish up to a 30% tax withholding on foreign investors related to dividend equivalent payments for US equity derivatives. US equity linked instruments, indices, structured notes and convertibles will need to be pre-screened to determine if they are subject to Section 871(m) and may require withholding. Beginning January 1, 2017, all US equity derivative dividends will need to be pre-screened but only those with a delta of one or higher will be subject to withholding. Further clarifications for what will be in scope for 2018 will be assessed by the IRS and announced at a later date.

“Section 871(m) is one of the most complex tax regulations, causing major operational and compliance challenges for firms,” said Cyrus Daftary, Co-Head of Operational Risk and Regulatory Compliance Solutions. “Tax has traditionally been a back office function focused on withholding and reporting but these new requirements will result in new tax implications for the front office. By working with our early adopters, we have created a holistic, centralized solution to streamline the compliance process and ease the regulatory burden.”

IHS Markit’s holistic Section 871(m) solution is part of a suite of data and tax offerings to assist buyside and sellside firms and fund administrators in complying with 871(m) obligations. The solution builds on the expertise and integration of Markit|CTI Tax Solutions, Markit DeltaOne, MarkitSERV, Markit Corporate Actions, Markit Dividend Forecasting and Markit PrimeOne. In addition, the offering leverages the Markit DeltaOne SOLA platform to establish the qualification status of indices and exchange traded products based on official composition, dividend and position data. This information can then be easily consumed via the SOLA database or standard flat file distribution.

In line with the regulatory requirements, the solution also enables firms to conduct a pre-trade impact analysis and determine whether or not a particular derivative instrument would fall in scope. If an instrument is within scope, the solution calculates the amount subject to withholding and the withholding tax rate for a specific counterparty. All of the eligibility data is stored in a centralized repository and can be extracted for Form 1042-S reporting.

FactSet, a leading provider of integrated financial information and analytical applications, today announced the launch of the FactSet Global FinTech Index, which provides a benchmark to track the performance of companies engaged in financial technologies, particularly in the areas of software and consulting, data and analytics, digital payment processing and transfer, and payment-related hardware. The Index has been licensed to Nikko Asset Management as the benchmark for the Global Fintech Equity Fund.

The FactSet Global FinTech Index is designed to track the performance of companies engaged in financial technologies that facilitate the transition of businesses and consumers to a digital economy. In particular, companies selected for the Index are focused on developing data, analytics, software, hardware and consulting services to deliver solutions for payment processing, money transfer, lending and borrowing, and banking and investment.   

"Our goal is to lead innovation and deliver indexes that address difficult-to-access dimensions of the capital market," said Jeremy Zhou, head of indexing at FactSet. "The granularity of the FactSet Revere Business Industry Classification System (FactSet RBICS) helps investors to better understand and invest in evolving market areas like FinTech, which spans multiple industries often in niche areas that might be difficult to discover. With RBICS we are able to develop a relevant benchmark by identifying 17 FinTech-targeted industries out of RBICS' more than 1,400 industry levels." 

The index universe for the FactSet Global FinTech Index is defined as stocks listed in one of the 30 developed and emerging market exchanges outlined in the index methodology. They must also have a market capitalization greater or equal to USD 300 million and a 3-month average trading value (ADTV) of at least USD 1 million. The Index is equal-weighted and is calculated in both price and total return versions available in US dollar. The base date is January 5, 2011 with a base value of 100. The Index is rebalanced semi-annually in January and July.

International law firm Pinsent Masons has secured the landmark hire of City dealmaker Hammad Akhtar to lead its Corporate offering within the financial services sector.

Hammad joins from Ashurst where he spent four years as partner after joining from Herbert Smith Freehills.

He is a well-known figure in the City. Recently Hammad's team were the lead external legal advisers on the reorganisation of Royal London’s business.  This involved the transfer of over £22bn of assets and was the largest and most complex such transfer in that year.

Other significant mandates upon which Hammad has advised include advising Resolution Life on its £5 billion takeover by Pearl Group and Swiss Re on the restructuring of its UK direct life business.

Hammad's arrival will boost Pinsent Masons' reputation for complex M&A in the insurance and long-term savings sector. The appointment comes during a period of unprecedented change in the market. Brexit, reform of the pensions market, changing regulation, increased solvency requirements and changing distribution models - particularly through digital - are expected to drive significant transactional activity in the coming years. 

Pinsent Masons already acts for all of the top 10 UK general insurers and 6 out of 10 of the top life insurers and in 2016 advised Legal & General Group Plc on the sale of Cofunds, the UK's leading investment platform for advisers and other financial institutions, to Aegon for £140 million.

Alexis Roberts, Head of the Financial Services sector at Pinsent Masons, says:

"Hammad is someone whom we have admired for a long time with an established reputation in the City. He will add strength and depth to our corporate capability and complement the existing corporate financial services practice built up by Hannah Brader over recent years. We anticipate that Hammad's arrival, combined with our proven track record in this area, will move us into a different weight class with respect to transactional work across the financial services sector."

BGC Partners, Inc. ("BGC Partners," "BGC," or "the Company") a leading global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets, today announced that Arran Rowsell has joined the Company as Head of Credit Strategy in London. Mr. Rowsell will report to Tony Warner, Executive Managing Director and Head of BGC's brokerage business in London.

Mr. Rowsell will oversee the coordination of credit strategy across BGC Partners, Mint Partners and RP Martin in the UK. He brings with him a wealth of experience, having worked most recently as a Head of Flow Credit Trading for several major sell‐side U.S. and European banks, including Commerzbank, Barclays and Credit Suisse. Earlier in his career, he worked in credit trading at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers.

"In keeping with our commitment to talent and technology, Mr. Rowsell brings to BGC Partners a track record of success in the credit markets along with experience in electronic trading venues", said Tony Warner. "His addition to the team will enable BGC Partners to drive forward its strategy of leveraging the Company's extensive liquidity pools and expanding its electronic footprint".

Aon plc (NYSE: AON) has today launched Brexit Navigator, a bespoke and proprietary three step solution designed to help organisations quantify the impact of Brexit risk exposures, and redesign risk management and risk financing structures. Brexit Navigator is supported by an interactive tool that presents scenario-based insights for each of the EU Four Freedoms: Goods, Capital, Services and People, which help assess the impact of Brexit.

Grant Foster, Managing Director UK of Aon Global Risk Consulting commented: "Extensive conversations with clients from different sectors and geographies over the past four months have given us a unique perspective on companies' Brexit concerns.  These insights, combined with our deep and extensive expertise in risk advisory and solutions, have enabled us to develop Brexit Navigator."

Brexit Navigator is a three step solution, suitable for organisations globally that have operations and business interests in the UK:

• Baseline, step one – Evaluates just how Brexit-ready an organisation is, mapping out the potential risks and opportunities.
• Balance, step two – Realigns the risk management and insurance programme to adapt to the new organisational risk tolerance and appetite.
• Horizon, step three – Tests the changes introduced to an organisation's programme to help ensure resilience for the future.

Eddie McLaughlin, Chief Commercial Officer EMEA, Aon Global Risk Consulting added: "Brexit Navigator is a great example of what we do best at Aon; an innovative solution created by experts who have listened to what our clients need.  Like all emerging risks, the sooner an organisation can plan for an eventual outcome the better. Brexit Navigator will help clients measure and respond to risks and opportunities created by Brexit."

HID Global®, a worldwide leader in secure identity solutions, today announced the industry’s first end-to-end identity access management solution that enables government agencies and other organisations requiring higher security to use a single credential for accessing doors, IT systems, networks and data.

The company’s new HID PIV™ (Personal Identity Verification) solution provides complete identity lifecycle management – from identity proofing plus secure credential issuance and use, to deprovisioning of these credentials. Organisations are now able to unify physical and IT security systems to create a far more seamless experience for users, while also offering strong authentication applying trusted credential and other advanced security capabilities that are easier to procure, deploy and maintain.

“HID PIV represents the industry’s first comprehensive IAM solution that provides trusted identities for accessing both IT and physical domains,” said Brad Jarvis, Vice President and Managing Director of IAM Solutions with HID Global. “HID Global continues to develop fully integrated solutions across our portfolio of products and provide a convenient and trusted experience for our customers.”

HID PIV helps government agencies and other regulated industries such as banking, healthcare, and transportation to improve their overall security posture and consolidate physical and IT security. The company’s PIV-based solution allows organisations to use strong cryptographic credentials for users to digitally sign emails or documents, decrypt emails or files, use full disk encryption and boot protection to secure laptops, protect sensitive print jobs with secure printing and leverage many other security capabilities.

The HID PIV solution is available in two options – Express and Enterprise. HID PIV Express provides a complete high-assurance multi-factor authentication solution. The solution covers the complete lifecycle of the identity: from identity proofing, secure credential issuance, usage in IT systems and facilities access, and credential retirement.

HID PIV Enterprise extends HID PIV Express with additional integration into the company’s Quantum Secure SAFE Software Suite, a Physical Identity and Access Management (PIAM) software solution that provides the common bridge between disparate physical and IT security systems. The SAFE Suite augments HID PIV Enterprise with a variety of convenient, unified access control capabilities that deliver a more comprehensive view across otherwise disparate physical access control and visitor, tenant and contractor management systems, while also providing predictive risk analytics capabilities.

Gemalto, th​e world leader in digital security, is partnering with Banma Technologies Co., Ltd for the production of China's first Internet Car – the Roewe RX5. Banma is a new joint venture between Alibaba Group and SAIC Motor Corporation Limited (SAIC Motor).

The RX5 leverages Gemalto's Machine Identification Module, MIM™ - securing cellular M2M connections for industrial applications - and features advanced telematics such as Bluetooth virtual car key, locationing of the vehicle, voice-command-enabled remote control of in-car functions, and real-time road condition alerts, etc. The MIM is compliant with the GSMA standards and supports remote provisioning of any operator's profile.​​​

The Chinese car market is currently the largest and fastest-growing in the world¹​. In 2015, foreign and domestic car makers sold a total of 21.1 million passenger cars, up by 7.3% compared to 2014. For 2016, the local connected car market is expected to generate a substantial revenue of US$7.7 million². With an estimated compound annual growth rate of 45%, this market is potentially worth up to US$33.9 million by 2020. Moreover, connected car penetration in China is projected to triple from 4.8% to 18.1% over the same period.

"The Roewe RX5, empowered by Alibaba's YunOS operating system, is the first mass produced internet car.  It's a breakthrough embodying years of research and technological innovation," said Alex Shi, CEO of Banma. "It is a product that demands the most secure and reliable end-to-end connectivity."

"Connected cars mark the beginning of digital transformation across the automotive industry, paving the way for autonomous vehicles in the near future," said Suzanne Tong-Li, President, Greater China & Korea at Gemalto. "Our expertise and global experience, combined with tried-and-tested secure connectivity solutions, put us in a sweet spot to help car manufacturers create smarter and more connected vehicles".