Virt-x, the pan-European stock exchange being launched by Tradepoint and the Swiss Exchanges (SWX) on June 25, will go ahead without the planned central counterparty (CCP) facility, and add it in the fourth quarter of 2001. While virt-x officials say the London Clearing House (LCH) needs time to build the facility, LCH, launching CCP for the London Stock Exchange in February, says it was never asked to go live in March, the original launch date for virt-x.

The delay in building the facility will mean that between June - when Tradepoint's UK and European blue chip stocks will be moved on to the Swiss trading system - and the end of the year, Tradepoint shares will be traded without a central counterparty.