Aquis Exchange PLC - Appointment to the AQSE Board

19 October 2020

RNS Reach

Aquis Exchange PLC

("Aquis", the "Company" or the "Group")

Appointment of independent non-executive director to AQSE Board

Aquis Exchange PLC (AQX.L), the exchange services group, is pleased to announce that it has appointed Lesley Gregory to the board of its subsidiary,  Aquis Stock Exchange ("AQSE"), the primary market for growth companies, as an independent non-executive director (NED). The appointment has received approval from the FCA.

Lesley is the chairperson of leading international law firm Memery Crystal, a role she has held since 2016, having previously been CEO at the firm for six years. She is a preeminent lawyer, with an established reputation in the capital markets space. She also has substantial business acumen having advised her entrepreneurial and international client base over the years. She has significant experience in advisory roles and in advising private growth companies. She has also previously been a non-executive director on the board of Accuma Group plc, a listed company, before it was taken private.

Lesley has been a champion of diversity throughout her career and has ensured that this has remained at the forefront of Memery Crystal's core values. She founded a successful female entrepreneurs' network in 2014 to connect female founders with other likeminded individuals and senior investors. She has also won numerous awards during her career, including Legal Adviser of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards.

AQSE is a UK-based stock market providing primary and secondary markets for equity and debt products. It is permissioned as a Recognised Investment Exchange, which allows it to operate a regulated listings venue. Following approval from the FCA, the acquisition of AQSE (formerly NEX Exchange) was completed in March 2020.

Aquis has set out its vision to apply its core values of transparency and innovation to AQSE, and is committed to improving the market through enhanced trading mechanisms, the prohibition of short selling, the segmentation of the market, and gaining greater institutional and asset manager support.

Michael Berkeley, Chairman of Aquis Stock Exchange, commented:

"I am delighted to welcome Lesley to the AQSE Board. Not only does she have deep knowledge and experience in legal matters and capital markets, she is also a business leader and clearly entrepreneurial in nature. Her expertise, network and advisory experience will be a huge benefit to AQSE as we embark on the next stage of our development."

Lesley Gregory, incoming Independent Non-Executive Director, said:

"It is my great pleasure to be joining the AQSE team. Its level of ambition is clear, and I am excited to be able to support its growth objectives by offering a legal perspective and through strategic advice."

Enquiries:

Notes to editors:

Aquis Exchange PLC is an exchange services group, which operates pan-European cash equities trading businesses (Aquis Exchange), growth and regulated primary markets (Aquis Stock Exchange/AQSE) and develops/licenses exchange software to third parties (Aquis Technologies).

Aquis Exchange is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and France's Autorité des Marchés Financiers to operate Multilateral Trading Facility businesses in the UK and in EU27 respectively. Aquis operates a lit order book and does not allow aggressive non-client proprietary trading, which has resulted in lower toxicity and signalling risk on Aquis than other trading venues in Europe. According to independent studies, trades on Aquis are less likely to lead to price movement than on other lit markets. Aquis uses a subscription pricing model which works by charging users according to the message traffic they generate, rather than a percentage of the value of each stock that they trade.

Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE) is a stock market providing primary and secondary markets for equity and debt products. It is authorised as a Recognised Investment Exchange, which allows it to operate a regulated listings venue.

Aquis Technologies is the software and technology division of Aquis Exchange PLC. It creates and licenses cutting-edge, cost-effective matching engine and trade surveillance technology for banks, brokers, investment firms and exchanges.

Aquis Exchange PLC (AQX.L) is listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the LSE (AIM) market. For more information, please go to www.aquis.eu