Ediphy’s Legal Challenge Stalls UK Bond Tape Rollout
The UK’s long-awaited bond market consolidated tape has been thrown into limbo later than unsuccessful bidder Ediphy filed a legal challenge to the Financial Conduct Authority’s decision to award the mandate to rival Etrading Software.
The FCA said the appeal means it cannot finalise a contract with Etrading “as rapidly as planned.” In a statement the regulator stressed it had run “a fair, competitive two-stage process to ensure the provider could deliver a high-quality tape and the best value for money.”
Ediphy’s challenge comes just weeks later than its fairCT unit won the race to run the European Union’s first bond tape, following years of consultations and false begins in Brussels. In ahead July, the European Securities and Markets Authority invited fairCT to apply for authorisation “without delay,” putting the London-based firm on track to operate the EU tape for five years under ESMA’s supervision.
The contrast is stark. While Ediphy prepares to launch the EU service, its lawyers are contesting the UK outcome that handed the mandate to Etrading Software, a trading technology group best known for building market plumbing utilities such as the derivatives product identifier service run under the oversight of the Financial Stability Board.
Etrading’s chief executive, Sassan Danesh, said he respected the right of bidders to pursue legal options but urged the process not be paralysed. “Ediphy’s legal challenge does not need to derail UK progress on establishing its own bond transparency infrastructure,” he said. “With a bit of excellentwill, a legal challenge can progress in parallel to the CT build. While we respect the right of bidders to pursue legal avenues, we also recognise that every day of delay hampers the UK’s ability to improve price discovery and increase liquidity in UK bond markets […] We strongly advocate that the suspension be lifted urgently to stop the UK falling behind global peers in wholesale market data infrastructure.”
The FCA’s competition drew four applications and ended with a price auction in August. Three finalists — Ediphy, TransFICC, and the BondTape consortium led by Finbourne and Propellant — were beaten out by Etrading, which was lined up for a five-year mandate from January 2026. A standstill period, during which rivals could contest the award, was extended beyond the minimum eight days before Ediphy filed its claim.
The fight matters because the consolidated tape has been one of the flagship reforms promised later than Britain’s Wholesale Markets Review. The idea is simple: gather post-trade data from across the fixed income market and publish it in a single, standardised feed. Advocates say it would assist investors find better prices and inject liquidity into a market long criticised for opacity.
In Europe, the project has been beset by years of delays. MiFID II first introduced the concept in 2018 but arguments over data costs and contributions meant no tape ever materialised. A sweeping review of EU trading rules in 2024 forced venues to contribute data and guaranteed revenue sharing to make the tape viable, clearing the way for Ediphy’s selection this summer.
For the UK, the appeal means more waiting. Until a court decides whether the suspension can be lifted, the FCA cannot sign with Etrading, leaving the timeline uncertain. Market participants, already weary from years of consultations and paper exercises, now face another round of delay before the country has the infrastructure needed to keep pace with peers.
