The London Stock Exchange paid bankers almost £7m (€8.9m) to defend it against potential takeover bids from rivals Deutsche Börse and Euronext, effectively wiping out the profit realised on the sale of The London Stock Exchange Tower, its former headquarters, last year.

In its preliminary results for the full year to March 31, the exchange reported it had paid £6.8m in "fees in respect of potential offers for the company", equal to almost £2m a month since Deutsche Börse made its £1.3bn indicative offer in mid-December.