The decision to abandon the business was made following an assessment of the financial prospects of Neuro, says Eric Noll, EVP of Nasdaq OMX.

"Despite our best efforts, the increasingly competitive nature of the MTF space in Europe has meant that the growth of the business hasn't reached levels necessary for us to realise our stated objectives," he says.

The last day of trading on Neuro is expected to be 21 May, 18 months since the launch of the pan-European platform in September 2008.

However, Nasdaq OMX Europe failed to garner more than two per cent market share amid fierce competition following the opening up of European financial markets under the MiFID regime,

The exchange says it remains committed to London as a financial centre and will retain president Charlotte Crosswell to work on business development initiatives in London and across Europe. She will also oversee the transition of Neuro customer relationships to Nasdaq OMX Nordics, where Hans-Ole Jochumsen will assume responsibility for pan-European equity trading.