BGC Partners Appoints Mark Benfield to Lead BGC Market Data

LONDON, July 20, 2011 -

BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: BGCP), (”BGC Partners” or “BGC” or
“the Company”), a leading global brokerage company primarily
servicing the wholesale financial markets, today announced the
appointment of Mark Benfield as Executive Managing Director and
Director of BGC Market Data, one of the world’s leading market data
providers and a subsidiary of BGC Partners.

Mr. Benfield, who will be based in the Company’s Asia Pacific
region, will have global responsibility for BGC Market Data and
will report to Shaun Lynn, President of BGC Partners. Mr. Benfield
is taking over from Bernie Weinstein, who will continue to oversee
Kleos, BGC’s technology infrastructure and system operations
hosting service, and will also be responsible for the Company’s
Intellectual Property business.

Shaun Lynn, President of BGC Partners commented: “Mark brings a
wealth of experience and leadership as a leading professional in
the financial information arena. His appointment underscores BGC
Market Data’s commitment to meeting the specific needs of each
customer for world-class, real-time trading data and analytics as
the marketplace continues to evolve with new financial products and
expanding trading volumes.”

Mr. Lynn added: “I would like to thank Bernie for his
contributions and look forward to his ongoing success in his new
role.”

Mr. Benfield said: “As the global market expands, the need for
the provision of accurate pricing and data inventories increases. I
am looking forward to working with the professionals in our global
offices and BGC’s e-Commerce team to ensure that we are maximising
our overall data inventories so that BGC can best serve our valued
clients and the wider financial marketplace.”

Mr. Benfield joins BGC from ICAP plc where he was Regional
Managing Director for ICAP Information Services in the Asia Pacific
region. He was responsible for building ICAP’s information
franchise in Asia Pacific and managing global strategic marketing
for the ICAP Information Services Group. 

About BGC Market Data, L.P.

BGC Market Data, a subsidiary of BGC Partners, is one of the
world’s premier suppliers of real-time, tradeable, indicative,
end-of-day, and historical fixed income and derivatives data. As
the exclusive source for market data derived from BGC Partners’
eSpeed platform, BGC Market Data’s products and services are used
by finance professionals for price discovery, analysis, risk
management, portfolio monitoring and valuation, and research. Our
product suite spans fixed income, foreign exchange and foreign
exchange options, credit derivatives, and structured products. It
is available via direct data feed and the Internet, and through
vendors such as Bloomberg, Reuters, CQG, DTN, eSignal, and
Infotec.

About BGC Partners, Inc.

BGC Partners (Nasdaq: BGCP) is a leading global brokerage
company primarily servicing the wholesale financial markets,
specializing in the brokering of a broad range of financial
products, including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps,
foreign exchange, equities, equity derivatives, credit derivatives,
commodities, futures, structured products and other instruments.
BGC also provides a full range of services, including trade
execution, broker-dealer services, clearing, processing,
information, and other back office services to a broad range of
financial and non-financial institutions.  BGC’s integrated
platform is designed to provide flexibility to customers with
regard to price discovery, execution and processing of
transactions, and enables them to use voice, hybrid, or where
available, fully electronic brokerage services in connection with
transactions executed either OTC or through an exchange. Through
its eSpeed, BGC Trader, and BGC Market Data brands, the Company
offers financial technology solutions, market data, and analytics
related to select financial instruments and markets.  BGC’s
customers include many of the world’s largest banks,
broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds,
governments and investment firms. Named after fixed income trading
innovator B. Gerald Cantor, BGC has offices in 25 cities, located
in New York and London, as well as in Aspen, Beijing, Chicago,
Copenhagen, Dubai, Garden City, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg,
Mexico City, Moscow, Nyon, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo,
Sarasota, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, West Palm Beach
and Zurich.  

For more information, please visit: href="www.bgcpartners.com/">www.bgcpartners.com

Discussion of Forward-Looking
Statements by BGC Partners

Statements in this press release regarding BGC Partners’
business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking
statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion
of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual
results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking
statements, see BGC Partners’ Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors set
forth in our public filings which we incorporate by reference,
including our most recent 10-K and any updates to such risk factors
contained in subsequent 10-Q or 8-K filings.

EMEA & APAC Media: Deborah Spencer, + 44-207-894-7961 dspencer at bgcpartners.com; or Americas Media: Hannah Sloane, +1-212-294-7938, hsloane at bgcpartners.com; or Investors: Jason McGruder, +1-212-829-4988, jmcgruder at bgcpartners.com