Financial spreadbetting company WorldSpreads is to begin offering 24 hour trading from the end of March ahead of the launch of a new iPhone application later in the year.

Currently, the spreadbetting platform allows customers to trade between 6.45am and 9.15pm but the company is moving to all-day trading ahead of the launch of its iPhone software.

Speaking to What Investment.co.uk, Conor Foley, chief executive officer of WorldSpreads, explained that while the peak trading time is between 0700 and 0800hrs, customers had requested that trading hours be extended.

He explained the company was aiming to cater for its core market of 25 to 55 year old traders that preferred to ‘log on, trade quickly and log off’.

Eighty per cent of the company’s trades are day trades, with the remaining twenty per cent rolling forward to the following day.

Software developers at WorldSpreads’ Malaysian offices – where the company employs 18 dedicated software engineers - are currently developing the application.

The news comes just days after WorldSpreads confirmed it had signed an exclusive agreement with Ladbrokes to provide its financial spread betting service.

Foley explained that Ladbrokes have been working in conjunction with WorldSpreads to develop educational tools such as online video content, which, the company hopes, will bring spreadbetting to the masses.

He explained, ‘What I admire about them is that they are going to mainstream the product. Ladbrokes have done a lot of field research.’

Foley said that only around 3 per cent of the UK population currently participates in Spreadbetting but he believes that many others would spread bet if they fully understood the process.

He added, ‘We have another 97 per cent who would also have a view on the economy and whether they think the markets have correctly positioned themselves. The challenge is to present the product in such a way that can appeal to the mainstream. ‘