UK-listed Close Brothers Group, the firm covering sectors including wealth management, said its assets under management rose 3 per cent in the five months to 31 December to reach £8.5 billion (around £13.5 billion), boosted by positive market movements.

In a trading statement for the period from 31 July to last December, Close Brothers said the firm “has continued to perform on track and expects to achieve a good result for the first half”.

“The banking division has continued to deliver strong profit growth in the period.  Loan book growth remained solid with an increase of 6 per cent year to date to £4.4 billion at 31 December 2012 (31 July 2012:  £4.1 billion) with growth across the portfolio,” it said in a statement.

Close Brothers said its net interest margin was lower than the last financial year as expected, however this was largely offset by a further reduction in the bad debt ratio reflecting strong credit performance in the period across the businesses.

At the asset management side of the business, Close Brothers said the revenue margin also improved, reflecting an increased proportion of higher-margin private client assets.