Trade.com’s UK brokerage entity, Trade Capital UK (TCUK) Ltd, has applied to cancel its Financial Conduct Authority authorisation after ceasing regulated business, bringing its British investment-services operations toward a formal close.
The company, registered with the FCA under firm reference number 738538, submitted its cancellation application on July 24, 2026. Its regulatory status remained “Authorised – applied to cancel” in November, meaning the process had not yet been completed.
In a notice published on its website, Trade Capital UK confirmed that it had stopped conducting regulated activities and was working with the FCA to complete the cancellation, including arrangements to return any remaining client money under the regulator’s Client Assets (CASS) rules.
The firm said it would remain subject to FCA oversight until the cancellation takes effect. It did not disclose the amount of customer funds outstanding, the number of affected accounts or an expected completion date.
The application dates back to July. The public attention came considerably later, on November 12.
July restrictions preceded the cancellation request
The withdrawal process began before Trade Capital UK formally applied to surrender its authorisation.
Regulatory records associated with FRN 738538 show that the company sought voluntary restrictions on July 6, including a prohibition on accepting new client money and requirements to use its best endeavours to return segregated customer balances.
The restrictions also required the firm to notify its customers and publish information about the changes on its website by July 6.
Under the documented conditions, Trade Capital UK was required to report any residual segregated client-money balances to the FCA on July 15. It was also expected to apply by July 16 to remove permissions covering activities such as arranging investment transactions, dealing as agent or principal, and safeguarding and administering assets.
The July measures established an operational wind-down before the July 24 cancellation application. The firm’s subsequent public notice confirms that it no longer conducts regulated business, although it does not provide a detailed account of how each earlier requirement was completed.
The restrictions came first, the cancellation paperwork after that.
Trade Capital UK was originally incorporated in September 2014 as LiveMarkets Limited and adopted its present name in April 2022. It received FCA authorisation in January 2017.
Companies House continues to classify the business as an active private limited company. Its filing history includes amended accounts for the year ended December 31, 2024, submitted on October 30, 2026.
That corporate status is seperate from the regulatory application. An active company registration does not mean a firm is still conducting authorised investment business, and surrendering financial permissions does not automatically dissolve the company.
Client-money returns remain part of the exit
Trade Capital UK’s announcement places particular emphasis on returning remaining customer funds and maintaining compliance with FCA requirements during the cancellation process.
The company has not reported that it is unable to meet withdrawal obligations. Nor does its notice identify an amount of unreturned client money or establish that any particular customer has suffered a loss.
The money still has to be accounted for, whatever amount remains.
The FCA’s procedures for cancelling authorisation require firms to address outstanding regulatory obligations, customer communications, complaints and potential liabilities before approval.
Where client money is involved, the regulator may require supporting documentation, including auditors’ reports or account confirmations. The FCA can also refuse a cancellation request if it considers the proposed arrangements inadequate to protect customers.
According to the regulator’s published guidance, decisions generally take up to six months for complete applications and up to 12 months where applications are incomplete. These are standard decision periods, not a confirmed timetable for Trade Capital UK.
For customers previously served by the British entity, the legal counterparty named in their account documents remains relevent to complaints and any applicable protections. Eligibility for the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme depends on the circumstances of the account and claim.
DaveFinances has previously examined how UK compensation protections differ for CFD accounts held through offshore entities. The same brokerage brand can operate through companies subject to materially different regulatory and compensation arrangements.
Trade.com retains other regulated businesses
The cancellation concerns Trade Capital UK (TCUK) Ltd specifically, rather than every company operating under the Trade.com brand.
Trade.com also operates through Trade Capital Markets (TCM) Ltd, authorised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission under licence 227/14, and Lead Capital Global Ltd, regulated by the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius under licence C119023948.
The group’s regulatory disclosures also identify a separate U.S. broker-dealer business.
Trade.com’s international website continues to list the UK FCA reference alongside its other regulatory approvals, while its British entity’s website states that regulated activities have ceased and cancellation is underway.
That creates an important difference between a historical licence reference displayed within a group website and the current permissions available to the company holding it.
The brand continues elsewhere, while the UK company’s authorisation is being wound down.
Customers contracting with the Cypriot or Mauritian entities are not automatically covered by British regulatory protections merely because those companies share the Trade.com name.
The issue is examined in DaveFinances’ comparison of FCA, CySEC, ASIC and offshore broker licences, which distinguishes regulatory permissions held by individual companies from those advertised across an international brokerage group.
Trade Capital UK has not publicly announced that its cancellation will affect the other Trade.com entities. The available documentation also does not establish whether the decision followed an unsuccessful sale, a group restructuring or another commercial consideration.
FCA scrutiny of inactive CFD firms provides context
Trade Capital UK’s withdrawal comes during a broader regulatory campaign targeting CFD brokers that maintain UK authorisation while conducting limited domestic business.
In September 2026, the FCA announced that 21 CFD firms had closed since 2025 following supervisory intervention, with another three firms in the process of cancelling their permissions.
The regulator said some firms had used their British authorisation to give affiliated overseas businesses an appearance of regulatory protection that did not reflect the legal arrangements governing customers’ accounts.
Its response included restrictions on trading activities, requirements for independent reviews and enforcement investigations in two particularly serious cases.
DaveFinances previously covered the FCA crackdown involving 24 CFD firms and the misuse of UK authorisation, including the regulator’s longstanding concerns about businesses retaining permissions without substantial regulated activity.
In its December 2024 supervisory assessment, the FCA had estimated that approximately 20% of firms in its CFD portfolio appeared to be conducting little or no business, raising questions about their continued use of British regulatory permissions.
The September 2026 announcement did not identify the affected companies. There is therefore no verified basis for including Trade Capital UK among those 24 firms or attributing its cancellation directly to that supervisory campaign.
The timing overlaps, but the individual case is not identified in the wider announcement.
For internationally active brokers, the regulatory environment increasingly places attention on the actual business conducted by authorised UK entities rather than the presence of an FCA licence in group marketing materials.
Trade Capital UK’s decision also illustrates the adminstrative obligations that continue after a broker stops trading. Client-money reconciliation, outstanding liabilities, customer communications and regulatory reporting can remain necessary until the authorisation is formally cancelled.
As of November 13, Trade Capital UK had publicly confirmed the cessation of regulated activities and its application to cancel its FCA permissions. Its notice had not established that all remaining client balances had been returned or that the regulator had approved the final cancellation.
The next definitive regulatory development will be the FCA’s decision on the application. Until that decision takes effect, the company’s remaining responsibilities continue under the British regulatory framework, even though its trading operations have ended.
Johan Shamshad is Editor-in-Chief at Dave Finances, covering financial markets, digital assets, trading platforms, brokers, fintech, payments and regulation. Since 2023, he has also worked as an editor at Gulf News, the UAE English-language newspaper published by Al Nisr Publishing LLC. His work focuses on market-moving developments, company disclosures, regulatory changes and trading infrastructure, with an emphasis on primary-source verification and practical context for traders and investors.