[3] City Index was founded by Chris Hales and Jonathan Sparke in September 1983 and started trading in March 1984 offering spread betting.

The following year, the group opened offices in Sydney, Singapore and Shanghai to serve clients across the Asia Pacific region.

In 2008, City Index purchased FX Solutions, a US market leader in retail and white label foreign exchange services.

City Index Limited – Established in 1983 as one of Britain's first spread betting providers, the company carried on growing – and in 2001 launched its Contract for difference (CFD) trading function in the UK.

The brand operates predominantly in the United States and currently has affiliates and partners in over 140 countries, processing 62 million trades globally in 2015.

[21] Advantage Web is a browser-based trading platform which offers traders HTML5 charts, a fundamental and technical analysis portal, and real-time market news from Reuters.

[28] City Index Trading Academy was won by trainee Black Taxi Cab driver John Walsh, who delivered a return on investment of 23.6% in the finale.

[29] City Index has partnered with a number of financial institutions to provide their clients with Forex, Contract For Difference (CFD) and spread betting services.