Sign in

Private company

London Metal Exchange

Logo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

Futures exchange in London, England

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is a futures and forwards exchange in London, United Kingdom with the world's largest market in standardised forward contracts, futures contracts and options on base metals. The exchange also offers contracts on ferrous metals and precious metals. The company also allows for cash trading.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1877Founded1
  • Industryadministration of financial markets, stock market1
  • HeadquartersLondon1
  • Websitewww.lme.com
  • Legal formpublic limited company1
  • LEI213800NB8G5VRT1DXC913
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered address10 FINSBURY SQUARE, EC2A 1AJ London, United Kingdom3
  • Registered withCompanies House, 021286663

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

LME entrance sign
Photo: Kreepin Deth, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons6

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is a futures and forwards exchange in London, United Kingdom with the world's largest market in standardised forward contracts, futures contracts and options on base metals. The exchange also offers contracts on ferrous metals and precious metals. The company also allows for cash trading. It offers hedging, worldwide reference pricing, and the option of physical delivery to settle contracts.2

Corporate structure

London Metal Exchange is part of a group headed by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. 10 entities, 3 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • London Metal Exchange London, United Kingdom
    • HKFE Clearing Corporation Limited (香港期貨結算有限公司) Subsidiary · Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • Hong Kong Growth Enterprises Market Subsidiary · Hong Kong
    • Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited (香港中央結算有限公司) Subsidiary · Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • LME CLEAR LIMITED Subsidiary · London, United Kingdom
    • OTC Clearing Hong Kong Limited (香港場外結算有限公司) Subsidiary · Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • Stock Exchange Of Hong Kong Limited - Shanghai - Hong Kong Stock Connect Subsidiary · Hong Kong
    • Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited - Shenzen - Hong Kong Stock Connect Subsidiary · Hong Kong
    • The SEHK Options Clearing House Limited (香港聯合交易所期權結算所有限公司) Subsidiary · Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • Hong Kong Stock Exchange Owned · China

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

LME can trace its history to metals trading in Royal Exchange, London.

It was purchased by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing in 2012.

In March 2022, LME was sued by Elliott Management, an American hedge fund. The hedge fund sued for $456 million, claiming that LME acted "unreasonably and irrationally" when it cancelled nickel trades made on 8 March, 2022. Jane Street Global Trading also sued LME for $15.3 million over its cancelled nickel trades in March. Both lawsuits were filed in the High Court of Justice. In November 2023, the court ruled in LME's favor, with Elliott and Jane Street appealing the decision to the Court of Appeals.

In March 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority fined the London Metal Exchange £9.2m after it failed to prevent extreme volatility in the nickel market in March 2022.

From Wikipedia’s article on London Metal Exchange, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Subsidiaries and ownership

Owners

Subsidiaries

  • LME Clear

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Jun 30, 2015Parent Directly consolidated by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited3
  2. 1877Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6