The London Stock Exchange and Chi-X Europe, the two largest UK equities platforms, are set for a showdown as LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet seeks to claw back market share from its new rival with system enhancements.

Rolet's opposite number, Alasdair Haynes, a man who was once tipped for the top job at the UK exchange, believes the LSE has finally accepted that Chi-X Europe's pan-European model is the more effective for a modern trading firm.