Sizing up the competition

A spate of high-profile mergers has rocked the inter-dealer broker market over the past year. To be top dog, it is increasingly clear that size is critical. Nick Sawyer talks to Robin Houldsworth, chief executive of Tradition

It seems all you have to do at the moment is blink and you miss some vital change in the broker market – an acquisition, a name change, the poaching of a team. Most recently, Collins Stewart Tullett (CST), parent of inter-dealer broker Tullett Prebon, announced in August that it had been approached by a number of potential bidders. This comes just 10 months after the completion of CST's acquisition of Prebon Yamane for £132 million last October, a deal that cemented Tullett Prebon's position as