Jim Pettigrew, long-standing chief finance director at interdealer broker Icap, today said he will leave the firm next year. His decision came as the broker unveiled record profits for the six months to September 30, driven by electronic trading.

Pre-tax profits rose to £95.4m (€139.4m), up nearly a fifth from the same period last year, powered by the Brokertec electronic trading platform, whose profits were driven 65% higher to £15.5m thanks to greater volumes of trades done on screen.