MOSL board seeks OK for £850k spend on market improvement and bilaterals

The MOSL board has proposed spending £850,000 on top of business as usual costs next year to improve market performance and data quality and fund a new bilaterals solution. This was set out in the 2019/20 business plan and budget the board put forward last week to members for approval at an upcoming meeting on 14 December.

The board has proposed setting up a new £250,000 Market Improvement Fund. In his covering letter, chair Jim Keohane said the money would be ring fenced and came in response to members’ feedback “that the market should go further, faster on improving performance and data quality”.

The plan also proposed £600,000 be budgeted for a bilaterals solution to lower operating costs and improve integration between wholesalers and retailers.

At £10.7m, the total 2019/20 budget is flat on 2018/19. Base costs are down 6% to £8.35m, and market audit costs slashed 38% to £500,000, with no change in the £1m change budget. Excluding the bilateral and market improvement project costs, the board-proposed budget is down 8% on last year to £9.85m.

Aside from market/data improvement and bilaterals, the board put forward two other priorities for the coming year – improving market stability and efficiency by making it easier to use the Central Market Operating System and minimising the impact on service delivery from its relocation to Southampton; and enabling a greater pace of change.