ICM.com has formally surrendered its Financial Conduct Authority authorisation after an unusually protracted two-year withdrawal process that began in April 2024. The broker’s UK website is now defunct, directing former clients to contact support for fund withdrawals. The firm had already ceased retail operations around 2023 following a £1 million loss in its 2022 accounts, though no official explanation for the UK exit was ever provided.
The departure adds ICM.com to a growing list of brokers abandoning the British market, including AETOS, ADSS, FXTM, HTFX and GMI Markets. For most firms the decision reflects strategic repositioning rather than global closure. ICM.com continues operating under licences from Mauritius, Seychelles, two UAE jurisdictions, and Switzerland, demonstrating a shift toward offshore and non-European regulatory structures.
Despite the exodus, the UK market continues attracting new entrants, with Ultima Markets and Moneta Markets securing FCA permissions in 2025 through acquisition rather than direct application. The regulator reported in late 2024 that approximately twenty percent of authorised CFD providers were essentially dormant, termed “halo firms” holding permissions without meaningful activity. As of December 2025, seventy-four FCA-regulated entities maintained retail CFD permissions.
The extended surrender timeline raises questions about regulatory wind-down processes and whether operational or compliance issues contributed to the delay, though no details have emerged publicly.
FXnCO Insight
The two-year licence surrender period suggests FCA exit procedures may involve undisclosed complexities that brokers should factor into strategic planning when considering UK market withdrawal.
Source: Finance Magnates