Reports
UK Wealth Manager Offloads Business After Pre-Tax Profits Nosedive

As pre-tax profits took a hit across the year, the group also grappled with rising costs, it said.
Brooks
Macdonald has said it will offload its property management
business Braemar Estates after reporting a near halving of its
pre-tax profits.
The UK-based wealth manager saw its statutory pre-tax profits
plummet from £15.9 million ($21.4 million) to £8 million in the
year to the end of June, a 49.3 per cent drop.
The firm announced its plans to sell off Braemar Estates in its
full-year financial report. The business will be acquired by
Rendall & Rittner, the UK-based residential property manager, for
£1.9 million.
While pre-tax profits tumbled, costs simultaneously increased,
which Brooks Macdonald attributed to investment in compliance and
IT, and because of “legacy matters”.
Statutory earnings per share fell to 43p from the previous year's
94p.
The dividend rose to 41p from the previous year's 35p.
Discretionary funds under management hit £10.5 billion, up from
the previous £8.3 billion.
The group's fund management unit now has assets of £1.2 billion,
an impressive 46 per cent increase.
“As we look to the future and build on our success to date, my
focus is on positioning the business to capture the significant
growth opportunities open to us,” Caroline Connellan, Brooks
Macdonald chief executive, said. “We will continue to enhance the
services we offer and improve business efficiency while
responding to the rapidly changing competitive and regulatory
environment, and the increasing influence of technology.”