Brewin Dolphin raises £40m to accelerate its efficiency drive

Brewin Dolphin unveiled the share placing alongside interim results showing a rise in pre-tax profits to £23.8m in the six months to the end of March.

A run on world markets helped it grow assets under management to £28.1 billion, from £25.9bn at the start of the period.

The investment management and financial planning firm has branches across the UK, including one in Lymington.

Chief executive David Nicol said: “We are now two years into the transformation and growth strategy announced in 2011.

“We have made good progress against our stated objectives including delivering strong growth in funds under management.

“Our strategy has two main objectives – continued strong growth and increased efficiency.

“These objectives are underpinned by a series of initiatives to transform the business that will improve efficiency, ensure it is best placed to meet regulatory demands and at the same time continue to enhance client service and improve shareholder returns.”

Mr Nicol also outlined the potential benefits of raising £40m through share placing.

“The new capital will provide us with additional investment capacity, enabling us to accelerate the implementation of our on-going strategy, capitalise on our competitive position and drive through future growth in earnings and shareholder returns,”

he said.

The interim financial report highlights the “significant progress” made by the firm in recent months.

It says: “Underlying profit before tax grew strongly by 26 per cent to £23.8m.

The strong growth was driven by increased income – nine per cent higher than the same period last year.

“Efforts to improve efficiency have been focused on strengthening general cost discipline and implementing a new core software system to enable the rebasing of operational support and technology costs.

“Improved equity market sentiment and early signs of a return in broader economic confidence are resulting in increasingly positive trading conditions.”