BarterTrust shifts base to London in bid for European barter market.

AuthorPrickett, Ruth

A major US barter exchange conglomerate has opened a new head office in London, with a view to expanding throughout Europe.

Bartering, the oldest form of trade in the world, has come full circle and is offering an alternative way forward for 21st century businesses. The announcement that US-based conglomerate BarterTrust is moving its head office from California to London, with a view to expanding into Spain and then across Europe, shows that the sector is now moving into the international arena.

Traditional barter systems have existed for thousands of years, allowing small companies to gain goods and services without borrowing from banks. In the past few years, the sector has become far more sophisticated and is now worth $65 billion a year. Local exchanges have amalgamated into a few groups operating largely in North and South America and Australia. Now these are looking to international markets.

BarterTrust, the product of eight of the largest US regional exchanges and a series of smaller local ones, has consolidated its position in the Americas and is now looking towards Europe. "We anticipate that the European market for bartering is at least as big as that in the US, if not bigger," said Philip Letts, the firm's president. "London also puts us in a good place to attract international investors."

Companies using BarterTrust will trade in BarterTrust pounds. These will equal UK...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT