Ballintrae to open offices in US and Asia

A SCOTTISH software firm that has signed deals with stock exchanges in Canada, Europe and the Middle East is unveiling plans to triple its turnover to £20 million over the next two years by opening its first offices overseas.

Ballintrae, which was founded in Edinburgh in 2002 by IT entrepreneur Steve Street, writes programs for the financial services industry and counts some of the world’s largest investment banks among it clients.

The company, which already serves international customers, plans to open offices in Hong Kong, New York and Singapore to give it better access to financial hubs such as China and Japan.

Street has stepped down as chief executive to concentrate on developing new products, promoting managing director Ian Pearson to the top job.

Pearson told Scotland on Sunday: “Ballintrae has grown from a one-person business based in Scotland to having services used on a global basis.

“We turned over £5.8m last year and returned a profit of £31,000 after heavy investment in hiring staff.”

The company already has 65 employees, with about 40 per cent working in Edinburgh and the rest in its London office. Pearson believes the headcount could hit 200 once it has opened its overseas sites.

Ballintrae’s growth in recent years has come through its market data practice, which supplies figures relating to foreign exchange rates, government gilts, commodities and equities to banks, brokers and spread betters.

The global market for such information is worth some $30 billion (£20bn) a year.

The company’s other software includes programs for monitoring rules on 174 stock exchanges around the world.

Pearson, whose career included spells with Citigroup and British American Tobacco before he joined Ballintrae as sales and marketing director, was appointed as managing director last year before taking the top spot from Street.

He said: “Street has balls of steel and that’s what you need to be an entrepreneur, like setting up his own company. That’s what attracted me to Ballintrae.”

Pearson added that the company is also working with Scottish IT start-ups to help them bring their first products to market. Street himself is an active business angel.

Before founding Ballintrae, Street cut his teeth in the City working for SBC Warburg.