Baillie Gifford’s UK division has raked in higher profits and grown assets modestly over the last financial year amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic which shaved £21bn off the wider group’s total assets.
Accounts posted to Companies House this week show Baillie Gifford & Co Limited saw profits climb 20% in the year ended 31 March 2020 to £15.2m, from £12.8m the year before.
Baillie Gifford is independently owned by its partners and therefore does not have to publish consolidated group accounts, but the UK division’s report provides a partial snapshot of how the business was impacted as the pandemic plagued markets toward the end of the first quarter.
Baillie Gifford & Co is one of four main subsidiaries owned by the partnership that oversees the firm’s UK assets, including its Oeics and 11 UK-listed investment trusts, predominantly for UK clients.
By the end of March the UK arm’s net assets stood at £52.5bn, up modestly from £52.1bn in 2019. The bulk of its FUM were held in Oeics (£35.6bn), followed by investment trusts (£14.9bn) and Canadian pooled vehicles (£2bn).
Revenues at the UK arm grew albeit at a slower rate than the previous year. Its total turnover was up 14% at £230.9m which pales in comparison to the 50% growth seen in 2019.
The impact from the coronavirus has also been notable for the group as a whole which shed £21bn in the first three months of 2020.
Baillie Gifford told Portfolio Adviser assets across the business were £197.8bn by the end of March. This is down 9% from the £218.6bn assets it held in December 2019 and only marginally up from where assets stood at March 2019 (£193.7bn).
Portfolio Adviser understands that AUM has risen since then as markets recovered from their March lows.
The firm confirmed that Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited, which includes six other subsidiaries, saw funds under management increase 3% from £124.1bn to £127.8bn at the end of the financial year.
At the end of March the group had 46 partners and 1,317 permanent staff.
