"The Group saw an unprecedented spike in new client demand, largely in response to heightened news flow relating to certain listed U.S. stocks," IG said in a statement.

IG said active clients surged 60% to a record of 230,100 in the quarter, as people stuck at home during COVID-19 lockdowns tried to make the most of the market action.

The company, which withdrew some of its riskier products after the retail phenomenon that has come to be dubbed as the "GameStop" frenzy, said revenue jumped 65% to 230.3 million pounds for the three months ended Feb. 28.

Last year's revenue had come against the backdrop of a pandemic-led selloff in financial markets and a crash in oil prices due to price wars between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

The company, which in January announced a $1 billion purchase of U.S. trading platform tastytrade in North American expansion, said it expects the deal to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2022.

 

(Reporting by Muvija M and Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)