European Wealth has ended the first half of the year with funds under management and influence up 24.2 per cent to £820m, boosted by the recruitment of asset managers and growth of its European financial planning business.
Growth was also driven by strengthening the group’s European investment management team in the second half of 2013 and the acquisition of Kingston-based IFA business Compass, bringing approximately £31m of funds under influence.
The takeover was the firm’s fifth in four years and forms part of a strategy combining organic growth with targeted acquisitions that grow the client base and offering.
The first six months of 2014 was dominated by the company’s admission to the Alternative Investment Market in May via a reverse into EW Group.
Trading activities benefited from strong market conditions in the first half, generating above average returns for clients in the three key portfolios (low, medium and high risk).
This should result in revenue growth and positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the first half, excluding one-off costs of the admission to AIM, EW said.
John Morton, executive chairman of European Wealth, said the admission was a major milestone for the group.
He said: “This brought immediate benefits with the Compass acquisition and associated fund raising following less than two months later. Such a transaction would have been far harder to execute under our previous ownership structure and underlines our strategy of combining organic growth with targeted acquisitions.”
“We continue to review further organic growth and targeted acquisition opportunities that have the ability to widen our geographic reach, broaden our scope of services and access important new client niches in the second half of the year.”
The firm’s outlook for the rest of the year is optimistic, although with global markets approaching historic highs, the second half is unlikely to show the same level of organic revenue growth as in the first.
The group is also looking at re-balancing its portfolio strategy to insulate clients against potential market shocks, whether as a result of geopolitical risks or changes in central bank policies.
