Self-invested personal pension provider Curtis Banks has seen operating profits increase 51 per cent in the first year following its acquisition of rival Suffolk Life.
The firm posted £10.7m in profits for 2017, up from £7.1m in the year before, as operating revenue increased 47 per cent to £43.6m.
The group currently administers more than 76,000 Sipps, adding a net 3,491 schemes, mainly as a result of continued new business (8,798 Sipps added) and attrition rates remaining stable at 5.7 per cent.
But the firm had also seen revenues grow as a result of its purchase of Suffolk Life in 2016.
Rupert Curtis, CEO of Curtis Banks, said: "This year has been one of considerable progress for the group with a strong increase in our operating revenues and adjusted operating profit.
"We have undergone a period of consolidation following the acquisition of Suffolk Life and now have a single identity for the group.
“Our new integrated group management committee has built the foundations for us to operate more efficiently and to provide an even better service for our customers.”
He anticipated growth would continue throughout the year ahead.
To support clients invested in its 6,000 strong commercial property portfolio it formed a legal services company, Rivergate Legal, and a property management company, Templemead Property Solutions.
It plans to develop a new Sipp proposition to deliver a single suite of products across the group and providing enhanced functionality.
Curtis Banks also created a group management committee made up of representatives of both Curtis Banks and Suffolk Life in April.
The team now oversees the group and and helped standardise operating procedures and aligne risk management.
Curtis Banks completed a review of its operating systems in December and decided to upgrade its existing operating system and move to continue using the Suffolk Life back office system.
The group’s chairman Chris Macdonald said: “This is a good set of results particularly with the high levels of regulatory focus on Sipp providers and industry changes.”
“We are confident that this is the optimal solution in terms of cost, efficiency and risk.”
Curtis Banks Sipps in numbers
| Full SIPPs | Mid SIPPs | eSIPPs | Total own SIPPs | Third Party Administered | Total |
2017 number | 20,539 | 24,682 | 22,193 | 67,414 | 9,060 | 76,474 |
2016 number | 20,955 | 22,097 | 19,428 | 62,480 | 10,503 | 72,983 |
Gross organic growth rate* | 3.39% | 18.45% | 20.22% | 13.95% | 0.75% | 12.05% |
SIPPs addedorganically | 711 | 4,079 | 3,929 | 8,719 | 79 | 8,798 |
SIPPs lost through attrition | -1,127 | -1,244 | -1,164 | -3,535 | -1,522 | -5,057 |
Attrition rate* | 5.38% | 5.63% | 5.99% | 5.66% | 14.49% | 6.93% |
carmen.reichman@ft.com
