• The London Stock Exchange is owned and operated by the London Stock Exchange Group, which is listed under the LSEG ticker
• The history of the LSE dates back to Jonathan’s Coffee Shop, which used to host commodities and securities traders and brokers from 1698
• The London Stock Exchange merged with the Borsa Italiani in 2007
• The Milan Stock Exchange left the LSEG in 2021 - joining Euronext
• The LSE is a leader in cross-border IPOs
• The London Stock Exchange is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 16:30
• Transactions over GBP 1,000 are subject to Stamp Duty
• The LSE has 10 official holidays when the exchange is closed
• The LSE introduced the first electronic order book in 1986
• The LSE operates a number of different markets, including the Main Market, the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), and the International Order Book (IOB)

The London Stock Exchange is a prestigious market that prides itself on the quality of the stocks traded there. This is why the LSE upholds listing standards and rules that companies need to comply with in order to obtain and maintain a spot on the exchange. 

Some of the requirements companies need to meet include:

• Audited trading track record of three years to be eligible for a Main Market listing
• Compliance with rules and regulations upheld by the FCA, such as the UK Corporate Governance Code
• Adoption of IFRS accounting standards in financial reporting
• Minimum 10% of the shares to be listed as public float
• Expected aggregate market value of all securities listed must be at least GBP 30 million
• The company must have sufficient capital to sustain its requirements for the coming 12 months from the IPO date

These requirements serve to make sure that the companies listing their shares on the LSE are financially stable enough to sustain their operations after the listing has been finalized. 

As a for-profit exchange, the LSE generates revenues through a number of services offered to listed companies and institutional investors:

• Transaction fees - the LSE charges fees on each transaction made on the exchange (this includes both buy and sell orders)
• Listing fees - Companies that want to list their securities on the LSE are required to pay listing fees. These fees vary depending on the size and type of the company
• Market data - the LSE charges fees for the data it provides for investors to use, such as trading volume, market capitalization, and various other types of information available to market participants
• Technology services - this includes trading systems, data management tools, and connectivity solutions
• Clearing and settlement services - The LSE provides clearing and settlement services for trades made on its platform. It charges fees for these services based on the value and volume of trades
• Membership - the LSE charges membership fees depending on the listing category 

LSE Listing and Other Fees

A company seeking to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange must pay one-time entry and recurring listing maintenance fees. The fee structure, which is calculated based on the market capitalization of the listed company can be broken down as follows:

• The initial listing fee for a company with a total market capitalization of GBP 100 million is GBP 125,665
• The annual fee for a company with a total market capitalization of GBP 100 million is GBP 8,750
• The application fee charged by the FCA is GBP 15,000
• Transaction and document vetting fees range between GBP 2,000 to 50,000, based on the market capitalization of the company
• The premium listing fee charged by the FCA starts at GBP 5,686
• Standard annual flat fee charged by the FCA, totaling GBP 21,536

Above are the standard fees applicable to all public companies seeking to obtain a listing category on the London Stock Exchange. Most of the fees charged by the LSE and FCA are based on market capitalization, with larger companies paying more in fees. 

The FTSE is the most followed market index on the London Stock Exchange. The index consists of the 100 largest companies listed on the exchange. 

What Is The FTSE 100 Index?

The FTSE 100 is a market capitalization-weighted index that includes 100 companies from various industries that make up the bulk of the exchange’s capitalization. The FTSE 100, as well as other indices under the FTSE brand, are maintained and operated by the FTSE Group, which is a subsidiary of the LSE. 

The value of the index is calculated in real-time and updated by the second. The FTSE 100 reached its highest index value of 8,047.06 on 16 February 2023. 

FTSE 100 Weighting By Sector

As already mentioned, the FTSE 100 is a market capitalization-weighted index. The weights of stocks composing the index by industry are as follows:

The FTSE 100 index includes some of the largest retailers and financial companies across Europe, which leads to the outsized weighting of these industries. The LSE is home to some of the largest mining and energy companies in the world, which is also evident from the table. 

Following the FTSE 100, the FTSE 250 is a market capitalization-weighted index that consists of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the LSE. The index is primarily made up of middle-cap companies from a variety of industries. 

What Is The FTSE 250 Index?

The FTSE 250 is a capitalization-weighted index operated by the FTSE Group. The index tracks the 250 largest public companies following the FTSE 100. The index is updated in real-time and published during trading hours. Alongside the FTSE 100, the FTSE 250 is part of the FTSE 350 index, which combines the two indexes to show the benchmark performance of the largest public companies on the London Stock Exchange. 

FTSE 250 Weighting By Sector

As a capitalization-weighted index, the FTSE 250 is home to a broad range of companies from different industries, which are allocated as follows:

As we can see from the table, the financial sector has an outweighed influence on the FTSE 250, as it is home to a large number of financial institutions from around the world that are double-listed on the London Stock Exchange - hence the number of listed financial companies account for over 40% of total weight attributable to the index. 

Aside from the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250, the LSE is also home to other important market indices, such as:

• FTSE 350 Index - Combination of the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices (capitalization-weighted)
• FTSE SmallCap Index - 351st to 619th largest companies listed on the LSE (capitalization-weighted)
• FTSE All-Share Index - all 620 companies listed on the LSE’s Main Market (capitalization-weighted)

• The London Stock Exchange is one of the oldest securities exchanges in the world, which now hosts listings from over 60 countries
• The exchange is home to the FTSE 100 index, which consists of 100 of the largest companies listed on the LSE
• Companies seeking to list shares on the LSE will be charged one-time and annual fees both by the exchange and the FCA
• Stock trades over the value of GBP 1,000 are subject to stamp duty 
• The LSE has three listing categories - Main Market, the Alternative Investment Market, and the International Order Book - out of which, the Main Market is home to a total of 620 companies