Close Brothers’ assets under management rose to £14.8bn from £13.8bn
Close Brothers (LON:CBG), the UK lender, revealed on Friday that its operating profit so far in 2021 had exceeded its levels for the 2020 year, as trading activity improved.
The FTSE 250 company’s loan book rose by 3.2% during the three months to 30 April to £8.2bn, and by 7.7% since the beginning of the year.
Lending was pushed on by strong demand for government business interruption loans relating to the pandemic, which has to go through before the March deadline.
The yearly net interest margin was at the same level as during H2, the lender revealed in an update today.
Close Brothers’ assets under management rose to £14.8bn from £13.8bn at the outset of the year, as its net inflows increased by 6%.
The company’s debt ratio fell slightly compared to H1, showing solid credit performance. While loans classified as forborne dropped by £0.1bn £1bn at the end of January as more clients began making payments again.
Although the company revealed strong results, it said its outlook remained uncertain.
“Our impairment provisions continue to reflect the uncertain external environment and the fact that the full impact of COVID-19 has yet to be reflected in experienced credit performance,” Close Brothers said.
Adrian Sainsbury, chief executive of Close Brothers, made further comment:
“We continued to perform strongly in the third quarter, in line with the trends reported in the first half of the year. There are positive signs of economic recovery, but uncertainty remains. I am confident that our proven and resilient model, together with the expertise of our people, leave us well placed to continue supporting our customers and clients and to make the most of opportunities going forward,” he said.
“I am very proud of our continuing efforts to make a positive impact over the long term. We have established a new partnership with the Social Mobility Foundation to help us build our programme of support for those not afforded the same opportunities as others, particularly as the country recovers from Covid-19. We remain mindful of the threat of climate change and are supportive of the 2050 net zero goals of the Paris Agreement. I look forward to talking further about our responsible approach at our upcoming Investor Event on 15 June 2021.”
