By Andy Silvester
Stars of stage, screen and sport took to the trading floors of Canary Wharf this morning as part of BGC Partners’ annual charity day, with A-listers downing their usual tools to close multi-million-pound trades.
BGC’s trading floors saw the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Clare Balding and Davina McCall executing global trades.
The now-annual tradition grew out of the September 11 attacks.
Cantor Fitzgerald, out of which BGC grew in 2004, lost 658 people in the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Chief operating officer Sean Windeatt told City A.M. that the annual charity day was an attempt to “create something amazing out of the atrocities” of 2001.
The firm originally donated to the families of those staff who were lost as well as the emergency services in New York.
Sadie Frost, one of the A-listers on the floor, told City A.M. the day meant a lot to her as a way of raising cash for a charity close to her heart.
In time BGC elected to donate to different charities, with a particular focus on local and smaller charities, and has since raised more than $200m for good causes.
The firm donates 100 per cent of its revenues from trading day to those good causes.
“Charity day is two things – you wake up and you remember what happened and you have your own private thoughts about that. And then as soon as you walk into the office, there’s an upbeat vibe, knowing that everybody is pulling together to make as much money as possible to charity,” Windeatt said.
Other celebs taking part included Dexter Fletcher, Sir Trevor Brooking, former Spurs captain Ledley King and a host of others.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan was also present, who told City A.M. the day was a “special” occasion.
