Close Brothers Group has announced an
operating profit of £131m (€150.5m) for the year ending 31 July, up
13% on the same period a year before.
Its performance was mainly boosted by a good
showing from its banking division, which includes asset and motor
finance, which increased its adjusted operating profit to £106m, a
34% rise on 2009-10. The asset management division, however,
recorded an adjusted operating loss of £9m (€10.3m) and its
securities division delivered a reduced adjusted operating profit,
down 8% to £55m.
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Close Brothers Group chief executive Preben
Prebensen sad: “We have made significant progress in repositioning
the group to focus on those businesses where we see the highest
long-term potential and, during the year, we have completed several
disposals which have streamlined and simplified the group.”
Close Brothers Group achieved organic loan book
growth of 18% for the year, to £3.4bn (2009-2010 £2.9bn), and has
increased its front line sales staff by more than 20% in the past
two years, including adding to its dealer relationships in motor
finance, opening new branches in motor and property finance, and
increasing its leverage of its broker network in asset finance.
Prebensen said: “We continue to see good
opportunities for growth in our core markets and our priority
remains to continue to grow in these areas. At the same time we are
selectively exploring opportunities for growth in adjacent product
areas that are consistent with our existing lending model and
conservative risk appetite.
“In commercial, we have continued to build our
presence in larger ticket invoice finance following our acquisition
of a loan book last year. We are also expanding our asset finance
business into complementary asset classes. In retail, the motor
finance business continues to see significant growth through the
key accounts team, which deals directly with larger dealerships and
franchises.”
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By GlobalDataThe groups’s commercial loan book increased by
20% to £1,390.7m (2009-10: £1,162.9m) with strong growth in both
invoice finance and asset finance. The average loan book increased
by 25%, leading to an increase in income of 23% to £140.6m
(2009-10: £114.2m). Asset finance saw strong demand across both its
existing and new asset classes. Its invoice finance loan book also
grew, driven by increased lending to existing clients and new
customers.
