The London-listed firm reported a robust set of financial results for 2014.

Arbuthnot Latham, the UK private bank, today reported a profit for 2014 of £3.6 million ($5.35 million), down from £7.7 million a year before, but said underlying profits more than doubled once the effect of a £6.5 million gain from a sale and leaseback deal regarding its new Wilson Street premises in 2013 is stripped out.

Customer loans have risen above £500 million for the first time; the core loan book expanded at a rate of 26 per cent last year, the bank said in a statement.

Net operating income was £28.895 million, up from £21.651 million a year earlier; operating costs rose to £23.977 million from £21.309 million, it said.

Customer assets increased by 57 per cent and by 26 per cent excluding the purchase of the mortgage portfolio (£106 million) to close the year at £536.5 million (2013: £341.0 million).

The fall in liquid assets came largely as a result of utilising surplus cash resources held at the Bank of England to complete the portfolio acquisition, Arbuthnot Latham said. Customer deposits increased by £64.7 million, or 12 per cent, to close the year at £585.9 million.

The parent firm made further capital contributions to Arbuthnot Latham last year, increasing its net assets by 48 per cent to almost £40 million. The private bank had a total capital ratio of 10.8 per cent at the end of last year, and a core tier one ratio of 9.4 per cent.

For the Arbuthnot Banking Group as a whole, pre-tax profit rose to £22.5 million from £15.7 million; underlying profits were £30.6 million, surging from £18.5 million in 2013. Earnings per share rose to 56.5 pence, from 51.9 pence. For the first time, customer lending surpassed the £1.0 billion mark, at £1.1 billion, up from £372 million a year before.