BGC Partners Appoints Ernst & Young as Auditors.

NEW YORK -- BGC Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGCP; "the Company"), a leading global full-service inter-dealer broker of financial instruments, announced today that the Audit Committee of its Board of Directors has appointed Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent auditors. Ernst & Young will replace Deloitte & Touche LLP as the independent auditors for the Company upon the completion by Deloitte & Touche of its review report on the financial statements of BGC Partners for the quarter ended June 30, 2008.

The appointment of Ernst & Young was made after careful consideration by its Audit Committee and by the management of BGC Partners, and concludes an extensive evaluation process. The decision to change auditors was not the result of any disagreement between the Company and Deloitte & Touche on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure.

"We appreciate the service Deloitte & Touche has provided." said Albert M. Weis, who is a member of BGC Partners' Board of Directors and also Chairman of the Audit Committee. "We look forward to our new relationship with Ernst & Young."

About BGC Partners, Inc.

BGC Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGCP) is a leading global inter-dealer broker, specializing in the brokering of financial instruments and related derivatives products. BGC Partners provides integrated voice, hybrid, and fully electronic execution and other brokerage services to many of the world's largest and most creditworthy banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, and investment firms for a broad range of global financial products, including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, futures, commodities, structured products, and other instruments. Through its eSpeed and BGCantor Market Data brands, BGC Partners also offers financial technology solutions and market data and analytics related to select financial instruments and markets. Named after fixed income trading innovator B. Gerald Cantor, BGC Partners has offices in New York and London, as well as in Beijing (representative office), Chicago, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Mexico City, Nyon, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.

Discussion of Forward-Looking Statements

The information in this release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. For example, words such as "may," "will," "should," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "strategy," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

The actual results of BGC Partners, Inc. ("we," "our", the "Company", or the "Combined Company") and the outcome and timing of certain events may differ significantly from the expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy for the Combined Company include, but are not limited to, our relationship with Cantor and its affiliates and any related conflicts of interests, competition for and retention of brokers and other managers and key employees, pricing and commissions and market position with respect to any of our products, and that of our competitors, the effect of industry concentration and consolidation, and market conditions, including trading volume and volatility, as well as economic or geopolitical conditions or uncertainties. Results may also be affected by the extensive regulation of our businesses and risks relating to compliance matters, as well as factors related to specific transactions or series of transactions, including credit, performance and unmatched principal risk as well as counterparty failure. Factors may also include the costs and expenses of developing, maintaining and protecting intellectual property, including judgments or settlements paid or received in connection with intellectual property or employment or other litigation and their related costs, and certain financial risks, including the possibility of future losses and negative cash flow from operations, risks of obtaining financing and risks of the resulting leverage, as well as interest and currency rate fluctuations. Our ability to meet expectations with respect to payment of dividends, if any, will depend from period to period on our business and financial condition, our available cash, accounting or other charges and other factors relating to our business and financial condition and needs at the time.

Discrepancies may also result from such factors as the ability to enter new markets or develop new products, trading desks, marketplaces or services and to induce customers to use these products, trading desks, marketplaces or services, to secure and maintain market share, to enter into marketing and strategic alliances, and other transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, reorganizations, partnering opportunities, and joint ventures, and the integration of any completed transactions, to hire new personnel, to expand the use of technology and to effectively manage any growth that may be achieved. Results are also subject to risks relating to the separation of the BGC businesses and merger and the relationship between the various entities, financial reporting, accounting and internal control factors, including identification of any material weaknesses in our internal controls, our ability to prepare historical and pro forma financial statements and reports in a timely manner, and other factors, including those that are discussed under "Risk Factors" in eSpeed's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, which was filed with the SEC on March 17, 2008; in eSpeed's definitive proxy statement, which was filed with the SEC on February 11, 2008; and in the Combined Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1, which was filed with the SEC on April 18, 2008, and as amended thereafter.

We believe that all forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions when made. However, we caution that it is impossible to predict actual results or outcomes or the effects of risks, uncertainties or other factors on anticipated results or outcomes and that accordingly you should not place undue reliance on these statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made and we undertake no obligation to update these statements in light of subsequent events or developments.