Mark Phelps is to be appointed group chief executive officer of GH Financials following Mark Ibbotson’s decision to step away from day-to-day operations at the clearing provider.

Staff at the firm were told of the move in a townhall meeting on Monday afternoon and FOW has learned that Phelps will relocate to London from Chicago to assume the role in April.

FOW understands that Ibbotson will become non-executive chairman of the firm succeeding Duncan Paterson who has been in the role since 2012.

A spokesman for GHF confirmed the move.

Phelps is currently managing director of sales and marketing and sits on the board of GHF. Phelps joined the firm in 2012 joining the firm from Liffe where he spent 14 years in a variety of roles.

Ibbotson has been group CEO since 2013 having previously risen to co-CEO of Liffe during a 24 year career at the exchange.

Since his appointment, GHF has diversified its client base and achieved several notable milestones becoming one of the few non-banks to gain a general clearing membership on Eurex and establishing the first remote clearing arrangement with ASX.

The clearing provider won Non-bank FCM of the Year in 2014 and 2015 at the FOW International Awards.

GHF was set up in 1993 by Gedon Hertshten primarily to provide clearing services to his proprietary trading arm Mercury Derivatives.

Among other initiatives, Ibbotson has been focused on diversifying its client base and bringing in more external customers and has picked up multiple clients across Europe, Asia and the US, capitalising on the wider shift in the market towards more specialist providers of clearing services.

During Ibbotson’s tenure, revenues at the firm have nearly doubled from £80m in FY13 to £151m in the last financial year.