Next Wednesday will be a landmark day for the London Stock Ex-change. At noon, the Exchange's B shareholders will come to-gether at an extraordinary general meeting to vote on proposals which are designed to end some 200 years of quasi-mutual status and pave the way for the beginning of a new era as a public limited company.

It is an important step for the exchange, recognising that global markets are changing fast, and that, for stock exchanges, the world has moved on. The days are gone when companies automatically listed on their local exchange, and investors sought opportunities only within the borders of their own country.