Icap, the interdealer broker that held preliminary merger talks with the London Stock Exchange last year, is planning to seek regulatory status as a fully-fledged exchange in a move that could pitch it in direct competition with the LSE in the future.

The broker, which outlined the plans in its interim results statement today, listed emissions, energy and transport as some of the markets where it plans to launch new financial products. It is not, however, expected to enter the equities market to compete with the likes of the LSE. Instead, it is more likely to target new markets.