London is still Europe's most important financial centre in terms of the volume of shares traded. But the organisation that actually runs the market - the London Stock Exchange -has been struggling to match the dynamism of some its rivals. This matters because the environment that all the exchanges operate in has been transformed by the advent of electronic, and now online, trading systems and by the increasingly global nature of the way companies are run. The share flotation plan is a key part of the London's exchange's strategy to revitalise itself, and to position itself to take over or merge with other national share markets. It marks the final end of the London exchange's image as a gentlemen's club run for the convenience of its stockbroker members.

in terms of: if we describe something in terms of something else we focus on one feature of it

traded: something that is bought and sold is traded

runs the market: manages the market

dynamism: energy

rivals: competitors

the advent of: the coming into existence of something

global nature: something that has a global nature operates or works across the world

flotation (also spelled floatation): the selling of shares in a company or organisation to the public by the owners of the company or organisation

gentlemen's club: an exclusive club to which only rich and/or powerful people can belong (often used negatively)

Its great rival the Frankfurt stock exchange has already become a quoted stock market company. Euronext, the market that combines the Paris and Amsterdam exchanges, is about to do the same. The London market became a company with shares last year, but the shares remained in the hands of its stockbroker members. Today's announcement means the shares will be traded on the open market - they are more likely to be bought by the big investment institutions. The London exchange is likely to become much more valuable as a result, giving it much greater clout in dealings with other national exchanges. The London exchange signaled that major changes were afoot by appointing its first women chief executive a few months ago, the share flotation plan is Clara Furse's first major reform.

quoted stock market company: a company that has shares which are traded on the stock market

in the hands of: owned by

stockbroker: a person whose job it is to buy and sell shares for other people

clout: an informal word meaning influence and power

dealings: (in this case) negotiations between companies

afoot: if something is afoot then it is already happening (but often happening secretly)

major reform: a significant improvement to a law, system or institution