In May 2011 the City of London Corporation, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Recipco jointly commissioned Z/Yen Group to produce a research report on the feasibility and potential of establishing a capacity exchange hub in the UK. Entitled “Capacity, Trade and Credit: Emerging Architectures for Commerce and Money”, the report, published in December 2011, highlighted the potential for capacity exchanges to generate alternative credit systems for businesses, improve productivity and stimulate innovation in finance and business.

The report explored existing and potential applications of multilateral reciprocal trade, including countertrade and corporate and retail barter. The research concluded that multilateral reciprocal trade using common tender is an emerging sector with the potential to create complementary credit systems alongside traditional financial credit.

The City of London Corporation has organised a workshop which aims to build further on the discussions generated by the research. Outcomes from this event will be available through this online group which also offers the opportunity for further debate and discussion, both by workshop attendees and the wider Long Finance community, about the potential economic and social impact of capacity trading.