Don Cruickshank, chairman designate of iX international exchanges, has given brokers encouraging signals about the opportunities available for smaller quoted companies and AIM markets once the London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Börse have merged.

Cruickshank and Martin Wheatley, director of marketing and development at the LSE, met with Brian Winterflood of Winterflood Securities, Bill Brown at Friends Ivory & Sime, John Mackay of Seymour Pierce, Charles Peel of Peel Hunt and Andrew Stewart of Collins Stewart.