The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has revealed the extent of the hit it took as investors pulled out of equities over the Summer, fearful of the collapse of the Eurozone.

The company saw a total of £418bn traded on its equity platforms in the five months to the end of August, 19% down on the £519bn seen in 2011.

The Borsa Italia, which the LSE also owns, saw 13.9 million trades during the period, a fall of 16%.

Over the whole five months, the group saw 49 new issues; that is when a company sells its stock for the first time. Unsurprisingly this was down on the 91 seen in the same period of the prior year.

Xavier Rolet, the London Stock Exchange's Chief Executive said he believed the firm had made "good progress" on revenues, although no details were provided. He also said the group was "well positioned to benefit from improved sentiment in the Eurozone".

The LSE's shares were down around 2% at 9:13.

BS

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