None of the records this desk read names a UK AvaTrade company. AvaTrade’s regulation page names AVA Trade EU Limited, an Irish firm regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. The FCA holds Firm Reference Number 504072 for that firm and, in a clone warning last updated 11 August 2025, names it as the genuine firm the clone sites imitate.
So is AvaTrade FCA regulated? The answer that matters sits at the top of one Register page. This is an evergreen explainer, not news: this desk read the two FCA warnings, two FCA pages on post-Brexit regimes and AvaTrade’s regulation page on 19 October 2026.
Three records a UK reader meets
| Record | Dated | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| FCA clone warning, Ava Capital Markets | Published 21/11/2013, updated 11/08/2025 | Fraudsters at avatradecoins.com, avacm-ltd.com and avacmltd.com copy a real firm: AVA Trade EU Limited, FRN 504072, Dockline IFSC, Dublin 1, www.avatrade.com |
| FCA warning, Ava+trade | 30/04/2026 | Not authorised by the FCA; avaplustrade.co.uk, 8 Cheapside House, London EC2V 6AA |
| AvaTrade regulation page | Undated | AVA Trade EU Ltd, Central Bank of Ireland ref C53877; entities licensed in Australia (ASIC 406684), Japan (FSA 1662), South Africa (FSCA 45984) and Abu Dhabi (ADGM 190018); a BVI heading |
AvaTrade’s site refuses plain requests; the text a fallback fetcher returned names no UK entity and no FCA number, though the body under its BVI heading did not come back.
Why does an Irish firm have an FCA reference number?
Before the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020, EEA firms could passport into the UK without UK authorisation, the FCA says on its page about dealing with EEA firms. The temporary permissions regime that followed ended on 31 December 2023, and the FCA says no firms remain in it.
What remains is the financial services contracts regime, a wind-down route. Per the regulator, firms in it must not deal with new UK clients, have not been authorised or assessed by the FCA or the PRA, and may not offer FSCS or Ombudsman protection. Which regime a firm sits in is stated at the top of its Register page. This desk could not read the Register entry for FRN 504072, which refuses plain requests, so does not say what it shows.
Is Ava+trade the same firm as AvaTrade?
Nothing on the FCA’s 30 April 2026 warning connects Ava+trade to AvaTrade or AVA Trade EU Limited, nor does this desk. The clone warning works the other way round: fraudsters borrowing a real firm’s details, including, the FCA notes, Firm Reference Numbers.
Is AvaTrade FCA regulated, then?
The FCA’s own record ties FRN 504072 to an Irish company in Dublin. Whether it may take on a new UK client, and with what protection, is answered by the status line on its Register entry, not by a marketing page. The Pepperstone and FxPro posts read the same records; the Warning List is not the Register explains why the two lists differ.
Frequently asked questions
Is AvaTrade legit?
This desk does not issue legitimacy verdicts. AvaTrade’s page names entities regulated in Ireland, Australia, Japan, South Africa and Abu Dhabi, and the FCA calls AVA Trade EU Limited the genuine firm that clones imitate. The FCA’s warnings tell readers to avoid the clone sites and the unauthorised Ava+trade.
Why is FCA regulation important?
For a UK retail client, FCA authorisation is the usual route to the Financial Ombudsman Service and, where eligible, the FSCS. The FCA’s warning pages say people dealing with unauthorised or clone firms will not have either; its EEA-firms page says firms in the wind-down regime may not offer them.
How can I verify if my broker is FCA regulated?
Search the Financial Services Register by firm name and reference number, then read the status line at the top of the entry. Check the entry’s website and telephone match those you were given; clone firms copy real reference numbers. The FCA Warning List is a second check, not a substitute.
Nothing here is advice or a recommendation of a broker or trade; leveraged trading carries a substantial risk of loss. The Register is not a decoration: read the entry for the firm you would contract with, on the day you would sign.