The London Stock Exchange has bowed to investor pressure and will return more than two-thirds of its £250m (€370m) cash pile to shareholders in a special dividend after reporting a 12% increase in pre-tax profits last year.

The dividend, which was revealed by Financial News earlier this month and follows weeks of intense pressure from its biggest shareholders, will amount to £162m or 55p per share. This is 65% of the exchange's war chest.