UK-listed Rathbone Brothers, the wealth management firm moving to new London headquarters in a few days’ time, reported a 30 per cent year-on-year rise in pre-tax profit for 2011 of £39.2 million ($62.1 million) from a year before.

Underlying profit before tax (excluding gains on disposal of financial securities, amortisation of client relationship intangible assets, head office relocation costs and exceptional Financial Services Compensation Scheme levies) increased by 20 per cent to £46.2 million from £38.5 million. Basic underlying earnings per share increased by 24 per cent to 78.79 pence (2010: 63.76p), the firm said in a statement today.

Rathbone said total funds under management stood at £15.85 billion at 31 December 2011, up by 1.4 per cent from £15.63 billion a year before.  In comparison, over the same period the FTSE 100 Index of blue-chip UK shares and the and FTSE APCIMS Balanced Index of assets fell by 6 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

The total net annual growth rate of funds under management for Rathbone Investment Management was 8 per cent last year, slightly below the 10 per cent rate chalked up in 2010.

Last year’s growth rate comprised £0.31 billion of acquired inflows and £0.79 billion of net organic growth. The underlying annual net organic growth rate was 5 per cent, the same as in 2010.

Rathbone Brothers, which has 750 staff in 11 UK locations and Jersey, is as previously announced moving its headquarters to Curzon Street in London from its current centre in New Bond Street from 27 February.