Close Brothers Asset Management profits dropped 27% in the 12 months to the end of July, amid reports a buyer is being sought for the business.
According to its final results to 31 July 2023, adjusted operating profit fell to £15.9m, down from £21.7m a year ago. The tumble in fortunes was driven by lower income from advice and other services, and higher hiring costs, CBAM said.
The business recruited 15 bespoke investment managers during the year, up from 10 in 2022, and opened offices in Birmingham and Cheltenham to support new teams, while also making inflationary-driven salary increases.
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Income from CBAM was down 2%, while the revenue margin reduced to 84bps from 87bps in 2022, due primarily to flows into lower margin investment management and non-advised products.
Total managed assets at CBAM grew 7% to £16.4bn, up from £15.3bn a year ago, driven by strong net inflows, partly offset by negative market performance.
Total client assets, which includes both advised and managed assets, increased 5% to £17.3bn, up from £16.6bn in 2022.
The drop in profits at CBAM follows reports in July parent Close Brothers could be planning to put the asset management arm up for sale, with Bloomberg speculating a price tag of £300m.
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No mention of the sale rumours appeared in the end of year results, which focused on the "long term growth potential" of CBAM via plans for organic growth, future acquisitions and to continue "investing in new hires".
CBAM has been a beneficiary of the exodus from Investec Wealth and Investment this year, hiring a raft of investment professionals who have departed the firm since news of its takeover by rival Rathbones was announced in April.
Adrian Sainsbury, Close Brothers CEO, said: "By leveraging our long-term relationships, the deep expertise of our people and our customer-centric approach we can deliver disciplined growth and are well positioned to resume our long-term track record of earnings growth and returns, building on the second half's momentum and a good start to the 2024 financial year."
