Listed adviser Lighthouse Group has swung into profit, posting a profit before tax of £600,000 compared to a 2013 loss of £1.6m.
Its annual results, posted today (26 February), revealed that average revenue production per adviser increased 5 per cent to £86,000 in 2014 which demonstrates the resilience of the group’s trading models in the two years since the Retail Distribution Review came into force in January 2013.
Recurring revenues continued to grow and in 2014 amounted to £20m or 46 per cent of total revenues generated from customers.
Revenues at the intermediary were down to £46.8m, compared with £48m for the year before.
Net cash balances were £7m, down from £7.7m in 2013, after a bank loan and unsecured loan notes totalling £2m.
Richard Last, chairman of Lighthouse Group, said: “The group has continued to make good progress during 2014, a year which saw on-going investment in our national LFA division and the launch of the Lighthouse Pensions Trust auto-enrolment product for SMEs.
“The increase in average annualised revenue per adviser and the significant reduction in operating costs resulted in a substantial increase in earnings which creates sound foundations for the future.
“With the main market for the LPT coming on stream in the latter part of 2015 and beyond, together with a cost base more closely aligned to the ongoing operations of the business and a strong cash balance, operational scale and a robust business model, Lighthouse is well positioned to deliver future growth.”
The results come after the Aim-listed national launched a dedicated mortgage and protection advice offering at the start of this year.
Lighthouse Mortgage and Protection Solutions will be initially available to a subset of the group’s affinity partners, representing around 1.7m members.
emma.hughes@ft.com
