Sucden Financial plans to open its first European office to service increasing demand in the bloc particularly from Germany.

The broker, which has its headquarters in London and two offices in New York and Hong Kong, has applied to the German financial regulator for permission to open an office in Hamburg.

Speaking to Global Investor before LME Week started on October 9, Sucden Financial chief executive officer Marc Bailey said the application to BaFin is the firm’s “main strategic goal” due to “increasing demand and interest for more capacity from European clients”.

Bailey continued: “We think our business model would be better served with a European presence, so we have made our application and are pending approval. It has been a lengthy process, but we are now in active dialogue with our lawyers and the regulators.”

Sucden Financial offers execution and clearing of multiple asset classes including fixed income, foreign exchange and commodities where it is a category one ring-dealing member of the London Metal Exchange.

Bailey added: “We chose Germany because we wanted a top-tier regulator, and there is genuine metals consumption in Germany because of the industrial nature of the country.”

The Sucden Financial chief executive said the plan is also partly a reaction to regulatory changes that followed the UK’s departure from the European Union.

Bailey said: “One of the things that broke down post-Brexit was the ability for agents to work in Europe under the FCA regulatory umbrella. With the timing of Brexit and then COVID, it has probably taken longer than we were expecting but there is certainly an opportunity within the futures business and the metals business in particular to be more active in Europe.”

As an LME category one member, Sucden Financial was one of the firm’s most affected by the LME’s controversial decision to close its nickel market in March 2022.

Bailey has also worked closely with the LME on its various post-nickel reforms including its efforts to improve oversight of the vast over-the-counter market in LME metals.

Sucden Financial is celebrating this year its fiftieth anniversary with various activities aiming to raise £50,000 for an East London community charity.

To find out more about the Sucden Financial Community Fund, please click here, and to make a donation, please visit Sucden Financial’s JustGiving page.