Investec, the banking group with dual listing in South Africa and the UK, made a loss of £4.9 million ($7.7 million) in private banking in the six months ended 30 September, a 25 per cent slide from the same period last year.

As reported earlier this year, Investec, meanwhile, is to buy Evolution - parent of Williams de Broe, the wealth management and brokerage, for £230 million.

In the private banking results, Investec attributed the decline to large impairments on property, mainly in its Australian arm and some in Ireland. If excluded, the firm would have reported a profit of £77 million in private banking, a spokesperson for Investec said. 

The group as a whole made a profit of £162.8 million in the half-year period, only slightly less than the £163.2 million the firm reported in 2010.

Client assets at the firm’s asset management division declined 10 per cent between April and September, from £58.8 million to £53.1 million, despite inflows of £2.2 billion.

In the wealth and investment division, total funds under management dropped about 10 per cent, from £29.4 billion to £26.3 billion. UK funds, which represent the majority, declined 5.3 per cent, while South African vehicles dropped 2.4 per cent.

Operating profit in asset management and in wealth and investment improved about 35 per cent in both cases.