Aquis Exchange, the stock-trading venue founded by City veteran Alasdair Haynes, moved closer to profitability in the first half of 2019 ahead of its plan to start competing for company listings.

Revenues rose by more than 160% year on year to £3.4m over the period, helping Aquis to narrow its net losses from £3.2m to £621,000, according to a September 17 statement.