Hi, I was in London around 10 years ago, knew some of the blokes at a firm in Woking - one of the directors was ex-Sainsburys and we've had a few drinks. A quiet lad who wore headphones non stop at work and chugged a couple of bowls of cereal every day ended up in the papers a few years later for some layering in the ES. Getting straight to the point, I thought that CME killed the whole "futures prop" model by banning member firms passing member rates to non members. The traders need to be employees/paid on a W-2 and cannot contribute to firm capital. Getting paid on a split therefore went away, and non-compliant firms went bust once CME retroactively adjusted the exchange fees to non-member for the last X months of booked trades. So I'm surprised to see a prop firm giving high limits in ES/CL/GC - scalping the order book with retail fees hasn't been totally killed by algo firms paying < 5 cents to clear and having member rates? Would be interested to learn the angle here and drop in for a visit if invited? I fly through London a few times a year...
Whilst the trading at this operation is based on the ladder, I wouldn't call it scalping in the traditional sense. A lot of it is momentum/news trading and trading breaks. Trades where there's an expectation of a run, rather than flipping out the other side. There's plenty of firms out there paying a split - both outrights & spreaders. As for paying a visit when you are in London - let me know a few weeks before hand & I'll arrange a visit.
I'd like to speak to someone at FCT - could you make an introduction? If they're ex Futex we may know a few of the same people. PM please.