On the Thames and scaling fast: What’s next for IMC’s fast-growing London FX desk

When Ramon Puyane joined IMC London to build out our foreign exchange (FX) desk, he had a clear strategy: to bring IMC’s powerful trading technology to one of the world’s largest and most liquid markets.

Now, the IMC London office is developing a real edge in this space, with a growing reputation for leading on pricing in FX trading. From this unique vantage point, the team is now eyeing new offerings and is primed for further expansion.

We caught up with Ramon, Head of FX Trading at IMC London, to discuss the exciting growth of our London office, and how we’re continuing to refine our tech stack to sharpen our edge in global FX markets.

Bringing powerful IMC trading tech to the FX world

Before opening the London office, IMC traders mainly used our dynamic technology stack in equities markets. But FX trading isn’t correlated with equities cycles; it’s driven more by macroeconomic and geopolitical trends—so the tech had to be adapted accordingly.

“FX is a bilateral market where you’re dealing with counterparties rather than a centralised exchange,” explains Ramon. “It brings a different set of market dynamics versus trading equities on listed exchanges. In the past couple of years, our team has done great work tailoring IMC’s existing tools to FX, but there’s still so much more potential to unlock.”

Earning a name for IMC London in the interbank market

IMC London has gone from being an unknown quantity to an important player that’s helping to drive innovation in the FX space.

“Initially, nobody in the FX market had really heard of IMC,” says Ramon. “But by the end of the year, that had all changed: everybody in the interbank market knew about us, and we had built a strong reputation based on our pricing capabilities.”

IMC’s growing reputation quickly led to invitations from respected industry conferences.

“This year, I was invited to speak on a panel at TradeTech FX USA, where I discussed the drive towards listed FX options and the benefits for market participants,” shares Ramon.

With over 700 FX professionals in attendance—including representation from all the major buy side, sell side, and technology partners—the conference was a strong indicator of IMC London’s growing profile.

“These events are really important for IMC London,” adds Ramon. “They give us the opportunity to meet counterparties and show how we use our technology to provide liquidity and make the market more efficient.”

Adding value to the wider FX market

From a strategic perspective, Ramon and his team are focused on the unique value the IMC London FX desk can bring to the wider market. “Our core strength is our pricing engine: it’s highly efficient, very fast, and very powerful,” he explains.

“We want to provide that as a service to the rest of the market so that other entities can take advantage of it to improve their own businesses. Our aim is to establish a symbiotic relationship with the banks that already operate in the FX space so that we can drive efficiency, transparency, and pricing for all participants.

With this strategy, in combination with our world-class technology backbone, IMC is perfectly positioned to leverage the broader shift towards electronification in FX markets.

“There are no centralised market data feeds in FX. It’s a fragmented landscape of different venues that’s genuinely complex to navigate,” says Ramon. “Applying a systematic, ultra-low latency approach to a market that’s still largely manual is a significant challenge. But by getting it right, we can have a real, unique edge.”

Driving our strategy forward with streamlined, scalable growth

Now with a strong foothold, particularly in the interbank market, our FX desk is focused on scaling our business efficiently.

“Our technology allows us to do really exciting things,” says Ramon. “We want to use our powerful and nimble IMC trading tech stack to expand into more currency pairs, process more tickets, and have that ultimately translate into higher revenue.”

With a clear goal in mind, the focus is now on growing our team—adding high-performing professionals at different levels with the skills and mindset to help shape a fast-growing business.

“We’re looking to work with traders, quant researchers, and engineers who are ambitious, curious, and excited by the prospect of working together across functions to build models or algorithms from scratch,” Ramon says.

“At established banks and legacy participants, the architecture is often fixed and the room to innovate is limited,” he adds. “IMC London is a different proposition entirely: the technology backbone is world-class, but the desk itself is still being built—if you join us now, you’ll genuinely shape the future of our business and have a real impact.”

Taking IMC London to the next level

IMC London has made rapid progress in just two years—but for Ramon and the team, it’s really just the beginning. “When I think about where we could be in five or ten years, I can see us running 24-hour coverage across APAC, London, and the Americas, trading up to 40 currency pairs and building a business that is sustainable and consistent.”

“If you want to work with rapid feedback loops, drive the desk to perform better, and use your problem-solving skills to shape the direction of our business, then you’ll fit in right away.”

Keen to join our London FX desk? Hear more from experienced IMC traders and quant researchers about life at IMC London, and visit our career site for the latest opportunities.