I think we will still be the leading securities exchange in five years time and we will have grown our business

Clara Furse, London Stock Exchange chief executive

The LSE was criticised last year after it failed in an attempt to takeover the London futures and options exchange Liffe.

In 2000, a proposed merger with Germany's Deutsche Boerse to form a pan-European index called iX also floundered.

But Ms Furse told the committee the LSE was pursuing fresh plans.

"Our strategy is clear and well-defined," she told the House of Commons' treasury committee.

"We are looking at a number of possibilities to accelerate the growth of our business."

Exploring other options

The failure to takeover Liffe was seen as a major blow to the LSE's expansion strategy.

Clara Furse: looking at a number of ways to grow the Exchange

Liffe accepted a �550m all-cash bid from pan-European stock exchange group Euronext, and shunned the LSE's bid which, while slightly higher, consisted of a mixture of cash and shares.

But Ms Furse said the loss would not stand in the way of the London Stock Exchange's plans.

"We are looking at a number of ways of extending our product base. Liffe was one way of expanding, but there are a number of other ways of doing that," she said.

Ms Furse did not say what plans were being considered, but was confident about the Exchange's future.

"We will still be the leading securities exchange in five years time and we will have grown our business."

Easy Liffe?

Ms Furse said she was not surprised by Liffe's decision to go with Euronext.

"Liffe opted for an easy life and you can't blame them for that," she said, explaining that merger with LSE would likely have resulted in the implementation of a more wide-ranging cost saving drive.

But, speaking before Ms Furse, Liffe chief executive Sir Brian Williamson said the "overwhelming" reason for supporting Euronext's bid was its decision to use the Connect trading system.

The prospects for future growth in the derivatives market had also been a factor.

"We are currently number two (behind Eurex) and we plan to be competitive and to become number one," Sir Brian said.