UK Wealth Manager Offloads Business After Pre-Tax Profits Nosedive

Josh O'Neill

22 September 2017

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.”