Capital Spreads boss Simon Denham takes parting shot at regulators

Simon Denham, the boss of City spreadbetting group Capital Spreads, took a sideswipe at regulators today as he stepped down from his role.

Denham warned red tape was hitting smaller listed business as the economic downturn continues to bite. The AIM-listed company posted a £2.1 million loss last year against a £6.1 million profit in 2011 as moribund markets failed to tempt punters.

Revenues fell 27% to £28.6 million.

“The last year has been very difficult for most of the financial services industry,” he said. “The increasing burdens of regulation, compliance and capital have fallen most onerously on the smaller-scale firms and this has, unfortunately, coincided with a considerable fall in UK retail and institutional business volumes.”

Denham said he plans to explore new opportunities in the financial services sector. He will be replaced by Mark Slade with immediate effect.