Orbyt Advisory — Independent UK Financial Services Regulatory Consultancy

Most firms understand the regulation. The difficulty is applying it in a way that works commercially and stands up to FCA scrutiny.

Orbyt advises boards, founders and firms on how UK and EU financial services regulation translates into operating models, governance and decision-making in practice — the point at which legal advice has to be made operational.

Founder

Tom Leyhane

IG Group, 2018–2025

Chief Compliance Officer at IG Group plc — a FTSE-listed financial services firm with over £1 billion in annual revenue — leading the compliance function as SMF16/SMF17 and advising the Board, CEO and Executive Committee on regulatory, governance and risk matters.

FCA functions

SMF16 (Compliance Oversight) and SMF17 (Money Laundering Reporting Officer) at IG Group, most recently through to October 2025.

Cryptoasset

Led IG Group's FCA cryptoasset registration — the first secured by a UK-listed firm — through to authorisation.

Authorisations

Directed licence applications and regulatory strategy across the UK, EU, US, Singapore, Australia and the UAE, supporting new business lines, acquisitions and growth.

Transactions

Led the regulatory due diligence on IG Group's £160 million acquisition of Freetrade, advised the CEO and board on regulatory strategy and likely FCA treatment, and led the subsequent change-in-control application.

Supervision

Led IG Group through FCA and ESMA regulatory interventions that materially reshaped the business.

His career began on structured products trading desks at UBS and RBS through the credit crunch and sovereign debt crisis, before moving into compliance via the FCA.

Practice areas

FCA authorisation and operating model design

Designing operating models that work in practice, not only on paper, and carrying them through the authorisation process.

Digital asset regulatory positioning, UK and EU

FCA cryptoasset registration and authorisation, and MiCA implementation. Direct experience of the FCA's emerging cryptoasset regime — the authorisation gateway, application windows, and the operating-model build behind them.

Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR)

Accountability mapping, Statements of Responsibilities, governance frameworks and reasonable-steps support.

Consumer Duty

Framework design and implementation for business models where existing guidance does not map cleanly onto products or customer journeys.

Change-in-control and restructuring

Working alongside legal advisers through the regulatory process on transactions and corporate restructuring.

Money Laundering Regulations (MLR)

Financial crime frameworks, MLRO support, and cryptoasset registration under the MLR.

Board and CEO regulatory positioning

Support where decisions on growth, transactions or product design depend on how the FCA is likely to respond.

New and evolving products

Regulatory treatment where the position is unclear or still developing in practice.

FCA scrutiny and challenge

Preparing for, or responding to, supervisory visits, skilled person (s.166) reviews and enforcement action.

Who Orbyt works with

Founders and boards navigating authorisation for the first time. Established firms facing regulatory change that cuts across their business model. Law firms that need regulatory implementation expertise alongside their legal advice.

Orbyt works alongside legal advisers, not in place of them. The work begins where legal advice lands and has to be made operational — governance, controls and decision-making that work in practice. Independence from commercial product and platform interests is a fixed condition of how the firm operates.

Contact

Orbyt is engaged for board and CEO regulatory advisory, FCA authorisation, and post-authorisation implementation.

tom@orbytadvisory.io

London · Orbyt Advisory Limited · Company No. 16843464