People: Oldham celebrates Sharemark decade

Gavin Oldham, chief executive officer of AIM-quoted Share Plc, has been reflecting on the latest milestone for Sharemark, the matched-bargain share-trading facility that is operated by the company and has now been in business for ten years.
 
‘Our success over the past ten years demonstrates what happens when there is focus on the constituencies of supply and demand,’ he claims.

Oldham recalls how Sharemark was set up in 2000 to provide an alternative stock market that could work without market-making intermediaries, instead enabling individuals to trade directly with each other – where they could be found. ‘It was a new concept then,’ he comments, ‘and it is one that has stood the test of time.

‘Part of the problem with quote-driven share-trading mechanisms that use market-markers is the cost of intermediation,’ argues Oldham. ‘By being order-driven, Sharemark removes this cost. By trading shares at a single price at periodic intervals we help reduce the cost of trading for both buyers and sellers of a share.’

Oldham contends that Sharemark is ‘ideal’ for companies that cannot afford the cost of admission on AIM or PLUS Markets. ‘It shows that there is an independent alternative for private companies,’ he adds.