Bonuses at Britain's largest online trading company are "significantly" down on last year despite the FTSE 250 company unveiling record profits. 

Shares in IG Group rose 9pc on Tuesday after the business said a 3pc rise in pre-tax profit to £213.7m for the year to May and an 8pc increase in revenues to £491.1m meant that it had beaten last year's record. 

However the profit boost wasn't as much as the company had hoped for, with the volatility triggered by last year's shock Brexit vote and Donald Trump's surprise victory not lasting as long as expected.

"Whilst we did grow profits, [we were] hoping to grow by rather more than that," said chief executive Peter Hetherington, explaining why bonuses at the company would be a lot lower than they were a year ago. 

IG Group shares

His biggest concern for the year ahead is not a lack of volatility but the impact an impending regulatory crackdown on the contracts-for-difference (CfD) industry, which lets clients bet on the way a financial instrument will move. 

When the UK watchdog said it wanted to tighten rules in this area last year amid fears inexperienced investors were losing money, £1.1bn was wiped off IG's value in minutes as its shares tumbled 38.4pc. The company and its rivals have since come out supporting the clampdown. 

"We genuinely believe the vast majority of things being proposed are sensible - we support with the one caveat around leverage," said Mr Hetherington, referring to the proposals to lower leverage limits for inexperienced retail clients. 

"Regulators are right to look at leverage but we need to be mindful of the unintended consequences of capping it too low. If you go too far in that area you're allowing people to go offshore. People are very trusting of flashy websites - we all know the internet's a big, bad place and policing it is difficult." 

The Financial Conduct Authority was going to announce the results of its consultation into the CfD industry in June, but is now working with the European Securities and Markets Authority on new proposals. 

IG Group, which controls 40pc of the UK's spreadbetting market, welcomed a German clampdown on CfDs in May, arguing that they already comply with the rules. 

"Unsuspecting consumers have been bombarded by providers who market the leveraged product to an inappropriate audience, often using bonus offers to attract clients," Mr Hetherington added.

"This is clearly wrong and we fully support regulators' attempts to stamp out this behaviour."