The merchant bank’s asset management business delivered higher profits and net flows, following a year of major reconstruction which has seen it refocus on the retail side.
During the period, the firm sold OLIM Investment Managers business to Albion Capital and ditched its corporate finance business. Along the way, it picked up EOS Wealth Management and Adrian Smith & Partners, further expanding its presence in London and the Midlands.
Close Brothers AM scooped up an additional £450m in advised assets from the deal and over 800 new clients.
By shedding its corporate business, the firm’s asset management arm improved its revenue margin by 10 basis points to 96bps and increased its operating income 11% to £102.9m.
The firm has also made a number of strategic new hires and relocated its client accounts onto a single IT platform.
Overall, advised assets under management rose 22% to £2.3bn, bringing total client assets to £11.2bn, 13% higher than the year prior.
Despite modest growth over the first half of the year, the group brought in 49% higher organic net inflows of £757m.
Positive market movements accounted for a further £588m, more than offsetting OLIM’s £492m of assets.
Close Brothers reported increased profits across all three of its major divisions, with the group as a whole posting 13% higher operating profit of £264.8m.
Chief executive Preben Prebensen called the set of results “another good performance for the group”.
“As a business, we remain well positioned longer-term, focusing on protecting our margins and underwriting discipline, improving our model through continued investment and extending into new products and markets,” he said.
