Short answers, pulled from the story.
The London Stock Exchange was founded in 1801, when the first regulated Subscription room opened in London. Its predecessor activity dates to 1698, when broker John Castaing began listing commodity prices at Jonathan's Coffee-House.
As of mid-2025, the London Stock Exchange had a total market capitalisation of approximately US$5.9 trillion for all listed instruments. It regained its position as Europe's largest stock market by total market value in 2024 and 2025.
Big Bang refers to the sudden deregulation of British financial markets in 1986. It abolished fixed commission charges, removed the distinction between stockjobbers and stockbrokers, and replaced open-outcry trading with electronic, screen-based dealing.
On the 20th of July 1990, a bomb planted by the Provisional IRA exploded in the men's toilets behind the visitors' gallery. A warning was called in roughly 30 minutes before the 8:49 a.m. blast, the area was evacuated, and nobody was injured. The explosion ripped a hole in the 23-storey building in Threadneedle Street.
NASDAQ's hostile takeover bid, launched at £12.43 per share in November 2006, was rejected by the LSE as substantially undervaluing the company. By the deadline of the 10th of February 2007, NASDAQ had received acceptances from only 0.41% of the remaining register, and the offer lapsed.
The London Stock Exchange is located in Paternoster Square in the City of London, close to St Paul's Cathedral. It moved to this headquarters in 2004, and the London Stock Exchange Group's offices are also based there.