EO-X will be responsible for distributing information relating to new issues to the retail brokerage community and for aggregating their orders. Private investors will be able to access new issues through their existing brokers whether by Internet, phone or through branches. The brokers will present their orders via a secure interface to EO-X which will present aggregated orders to the sponsor on a real-time basis in line with current institutional practices.

EO-X will additionally be responsible for marketing and coordination with issuers and investment banks on behalf of participating retail brokers.

UK retail stockbrokers who have signed up to the new service, scheduled to go live in September, include Barclays Stockbrokers, Charles Schwab Europe, Charles Stanley, Davy Stockbrokers, DLJdirect, E*Trade UK Limited, Halifax Share Dealing, IMIWeb UK, Lloyds TSB Stockbrokers, The Share Centre and Stocktrade. Together these banks and brokers have in excess of three million broking accounts.

Participation in EO-X will be available to all member firms of the London Stock Exchange.

In addition to access to UK new issues of equity, debt and structured products, retail brokers will also be offered access to cross-border new issues.

John St John, EO chief executive, comments: "We are delighted to have assembled such a prestigious launch group of retail brokers for EO-X which will provide investment banks with access to a substantial source of demand for new issues. The launch of EO-X radically improves the efficiency of accessing retail investors thereby enhancing the capital raising process for issuers."