There were 74 firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and authorized to offer CFD products to UK retail traders as of 1 December 2025, FinanceMagnates.com I learned through a freedom of information request. There were a total of 105 companies in the FCA’s CFD portfolio.
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Notably, a few of these companies may have surrendered their FCA licenses as well.
FinanceMagnates.com I mentioned that recently FXTM will also surrender its FCA licence On the other hand, it has become a full-fledged brokerage company in the UAE and is expanding in Indonesia.
Dozens of CFD brokers are still regulated in the UK
The British regulator also revealed that there are 2,547 companies licensed to act as managers and/or agents, with the investment types of “Contracts for Difference”, “Forex Trading” and/or “Spread Betting” authorized for clients.
Additional detailed data shows that 936 companies are licensed for CFD products with “provider” permission (dealing as principal), 2,560 are licensed for CFD products with dealing as agent and master permissions, and 152 companies have matched restrictions and master permissions to offer CFD products.
However, the number of companies actively offering CFDs is still unknown.
The “halo effect” is a problem
At the end of 2024, the British regulator revealed that around 20 percent of local CFD brokers, including spread betting and forex trading service providers, They were doing little or no activity and were called “corona companies.”.
It then justified the “halo” designation because the firms existed “purely to provide the FCA halo to wider groups”, thus giving “false comfort to global retail clients who see the FCA association but contract with an offshore ‘group’ entity rather than the UK authorized firm, without UK regulatory protection”.
FCA licensing is one of the most difficult regulatory regimes for CFD brokers. The strict requirements may have pushed many companies away, as many have exited the country over the past few years.
However, a handful have too Entered the FCA licensing system.
Last November, the British regulator also issued a warning against CFD providers after its review found this Some companies did not meet the criteria set out under the Consumer Duty.
This article was written by Arnab Shomi at www.financemagnates.com.
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