Edmund Hor’s company, Trayport, supplies the systems that run most over-the-counter trades in the European power and natural gas markets – and it is a poorly kept secret that Trayport is also behind the majority of new clearing initiatives in Europe. This is quite an achievement for a firm Hor started in 1993 as a two-man vehicle for contract work.

Hor’s big break came when he was invited to build a spreadsheet for UK broker Spectron. “I said to them: ‘You don’t want a spreadsheet. You want a