UK wealth management company St James’s Place Capital, which is 60 per cent owned by Edinburgh-based banking group HBoS, saw pre-tax profit ...

UK wealth management company St James’s Place Capital, which is 60 per cent owned by Edinburgh-based banking group HBoS, saw pre-tax profit rise. The group saw profits rise by 37 per cent to £142.3 million ($273.1 million) in 2004. The Cirencester-based company, which sells insurance, pensions and investments to wealthy individuals, made new business profits of £38 million, compared to £25 million in 2003. New business per partner was up by 18 per cent. The value of funds under the group’s management rose 20 per cent to £9.5 billion. Chairman Mike Wilson said in a statement: “We are confident that our long established model of having our own dedicated distribution of experienced advisers, the St James’s Place Partnership, will give us an even greater competitive advantage in the future world of depolarization [deregulation of the UK independent financial advisor market].” He added that 2004 had been probably the busiest year in the company’s history. The firm is one of the last financial services groups in the UK to sell directly to people in their homes. The company recently announced that it would expand its range of products and services from May: it will offer advice on offshore funds, immediate needs annuities and pension annuities and add group pension and section 32 plans to its own range.