It also claims to be making inroads into large-cap trading in the UK.

In the six months since the introduction of European regulatory regime MiFID, PLUS has attracted a market share of 50 per cent (by number of trades) in almost 400 small- and mid-cap LSE-listed companies.

Of the 225 FTSE Fledgling stocks traded on PLUS, the market attracts 55 per cent of trades. FTSE Fledgling stocks are the smallest companies listed on the LSE, representing about two per cent of the market’s total capitalisation.

The exchange handles 40 per cent of trades in 80 companies which are dual-listed on AIM and PLUS.

PLUS also claims to be attracting a growing share of trading in certain larger companies, including investment and financial services firm Alliance Trust, in which 10.08 per cent of April’s trades were made through PLUS (compared to 6.48 per cent in March and 2.78 in February). It also executed 4.7 per cent of trades in British Airways and 6.45 per cent in Alliance & Leicester.