Despite the acquisition – which incurred initial costs of £1.05m – the firm announced a 4% rise in pre-tax profits to £4.26m in the half year ended 31 December, compared to same period in 2011.
The Spearpoint deal has added discretionary funds under management of £686m, including funds totalling £85m together with advisory assets of £357m. Excluding Spearpoint, organic and market growth saw existing assets climb £414m (11.8%).
Property assets under administration, managed by Braemar Estates, rose to £885m.
Given the group’s strong performance, the Board has increased its dividend 8% to 6.5p.
The firm also noted that the implementation of RDR led to a huge amount of system development and “repapering”, which will continue into the second half of the year. Regulation has also led to increased one-off and ongoing costs.
Chris Macdonald, CEO of Brooks Macdonald, said: “We have had an encouraging start to our second half and look forward with confidence. Since the period end funds under management have continued to grow, with the additional benefit of higher equity markets.
“We remain focused on completing the successful integration of Spearpoint and anticipate it beginning to contribute to our growth in the second half of the calendar year.”
